Ancient Strengthening Technique (Portraits of Beauty)

AST 615 – Towards the Seven Stars Country Once Again, Golden Light Eagle

Qing Shui was well aware of the importance which the last sentence held – the Duanmu Clan couldn"t compare with the Village of Longevity!

He had originally thought that the Seven Stars Country was not a very powerful existence. Now it seemed like the trip to Di Clan might not be that smooth of a ride. No matter for what reason it was, for the Residence of the Sky Tyrant Lord to be eliminated by Qing Shui was a disgrace in itself. Since it was one of the Seven Stars,.

Lady Duanmu nodded with a smile when she saw Qing Shui"s expression. She didn"t really say anything else, but the look of admiration in her eyes was visible.

"Thank you, senior!" Qing Shui expressed his sincere grat.i.tude to Lady Duanmu.

"You"re welcome. If we were going to be courteous, I would have to thank you every single day. It"s late now, so you should leave tomorrow instead. Remember to send a letter to the Duanmu Clan if anything happens." Yu Ruyan told Qing Shui with a smile.

In the Realm of Violet Jade Immortal, Qing Shui was drawing the "Hundred Forms of the Tiger". He was still currently at the level of "drawing flesh and blood", but he had been making progressive improvements.

He had spent a lot of time observing the manner of the portrayed Tiger Form. He felt like he had gained a new insight to his Tiger Form cultivation without even realizing it. Although, to have any breakthroughs on Tiger Form now, was as difficult as ascending the heavens.

He didn"t make much progress on talisman drawing either, so he figured he might as well stop learning to draw new talismans. Other than spending most of his time on drawing the "Hundred Forms of the Tiger", he spent the rest of his time drawing random talismans.

He felt that he"d already reached a bottleneck at Grade Four Heavenly Talismans. He currently placed his hopes on drawing this "Hundred Forms of the Tiger". He had a feeling that breaking through the level of drawing flesh and blood should be able to bring his talisman drawing to another level as well.

"Be careful on your journey, and remember what I"ve told you," Lady Duanmu and Yu Ruyan reminded Qing Shui.

"Take care of yourself, Sister Chen!"

"You too!"

Duanmu Lingshuang bidded farewell to Di Chen and Qing Shui.

"Take care of yourself senior." Qing Shui chuckled. He then climbed on Fire Bird with Di Chen, waved goodbye, and quickly disappeared out of their sight.

"Lingshuang, he"s gone." Yu Ruyan murmured softly to her daughter.

"Yes." Duanmu Lingshuang looked at Yu Ruyan.

"Are you sad?"

"Why do I have to be sad?" Duanmu Lingshuang asked while looking at Yu Ruyan.

"Haven"t you noticed how much you"ve changed? La.s.s, perhaps you haven"t realized it, but you will very soon. When that time comes, you must tell mother if you wish to discuss about it with me." Yu Ruyan held Duanmu Lingshuang"s hand as they started walking back.

"If that day comes, I will definitely do that," Duanmu Lingshuang said with a mischievous smile as she hugged Yu Ruyan"s arm. Yu Ruyan was the only one who could see her occasional childish side and her wintry smile.

Qing Shui"s Fire Bird steadily flew over Duanmu City at a high speed!

The Dongguo Clan of the Duanmu City!

"Third Master, that male and female pair from the Duanmu Clan have already left. They"re flying towards the northeast direction as we speak." A youth quickly ran to a courtyard and reported this to Third Master Dongguo.

"Alright, I got it," a smile appeared on the old Third Master Dongguo"s face. That smile gradually turned into a sinister grin, and then into an evil laugh.

Screech!

A clear cry rang out as an enormous gold sparkling eagle appeared in the sky.

A Golden Light Eagle!

Its entire body was covered by golden feathers and had a wingspan greater than thirty metres. This type of demonic beast was a Grade One Martial Saint, but it had an exceptional ability of flight.

"Brats, no one can ever escape from the clutches of I, the Third Master!" Third Master Dongguo mumbled to himself.

Just then, a middle aged man who looked especially wretched appeared. His eyes were as pitch black as a mouse, he was hairy, he had a flat nose and thick lips. He walked to the side of the Third Master and bowed, "Third Master, are you sure that you want to lay a finger on that kid?"

"Shang Jiu, you think that brat shouldn"t be touched?" Third Master Dongguo looked at the man who had the wretched appearance. He seemed to highly regard this man"s opinion. He would ask for his opinion even if he had already made his decision,.

"Third Master, there will be no issues if you aren"t concerned about the Duanmu Clan."

"What if I am concerned?" If Third Master couldn"t be concerned, then he naturally wouldn"t need to be. If he was powerful enough, he would"ve already s.n.a.t.c.hed those girls from the Duanmu Clan long ago.

"If Third Master can take care of this cleanly without leaving any evidence, then they can"t do anything about it. Even the Duanmu Clan wouldn"t rashly offend the Dongguo Clan due to it"s relations.h.i.+p between the other clans. Furthermore, they aren"t going to come to us if this gets handled properly. What could they do even if they came to us? Neither the live nor the dead bodies of those people would be found."

A satisfied smile appeared on Third Master Dongguo"s face upon hearing the wretched man"s words.

No one was aware that the Third Master Dongguo was someone who dual cultivated using women as a furnace. So he was definitely someone who was great at looking at women. The moment he first laid his eyes on Di Chen, he knew he had found hope in breaking through the Grade Six Martial Saint which he"d been trying for so long.

As long as he could breakthrough, his position would be even higher among the Dongguo Clan. The clan would also gain another powerful figure. This meant that Dongguo Clan would have more rights to speak among the Four Clans Alliance.

For this very reason, Third Master Dongguo was willing to try even when he was risking offending the Duanmu Clan. He had been stuck at Grade Six Martial Saint for about fifty years. He didn"t want to wait any longer or else he would be like this for the rest of his life. He still hadn"t given up on breaking through and setting his foot into that realm.

He had the confidence in taking care of them cleanly. He was even thinking of taking care of them cleanly. After he found out that Shang Jiu held the same view, he was even more determined to go through with it.

"Travel safe Third Master!" Shang Jiu bowed at Third Master Dongguo, who had climbed onto the Golden Light Eagle.

"My Lady!"

"What is it?" Yu Ruyan"s voice rang out!

"Third Master Dongguo is chasing Mister Qing on the Golden Light Eagle!"

"I see. You may leave!"

"Understood!"

"Third Master Dongguo, you"re courting death! It"s time for you to die, you can"t blame anyone else but yourself." Yu Ruyan slowly said after a long while.

Qing Shui and Di Chen had already been flying for a day. They"d already made it out of the city by nightfall. They could"ve arrived at the next city in another two hours, but Qing Shui felt it was better to camp outside the city since it was more convenient to make food that way.

"Let"s camp out here tonight, the environment is quite nice as well."

He looked around at the endless wilderness surrounding him. His field of vision was very wide. There were some patches of green vegetation, but it was mostly dense wilderness around them with a few barren hills in the distance.

The night had just arrived and the bright moon had risen from the west. He could see a few small wild beasts roaming about under the moonlight.

A bonfire was lit. The pot of fish soup placed over it started boiling with hot steam.

Di Chen wasn"t wearing her veil. She seemed to be in deep in thought as she sat beside Qing Shui in silence and didn"t utter a single word. Her beautiful face was peerlessly divine under the illuminated moonlight.

"What are you thinking so hard about? It"s dinner time," Qing Shui gently said.

"Qing Shui, do you think a father would love his daughter forever? Would he still pamper her as he did when she was little?" Di Chen was still deep in thought as she questioned softly.

"He definitely will. A daughter is her father"s lover in past life. So a father will spoil his daughter the most in this life. That is, until she meets her husband, who will continue to spoil her in her father"s place." Qing Shui answered with a smile.

"Qing Shui, will you spoil your daughter until she grows up and gets married?" Di Chen raised her head to look at Qing Shui with her clear eyes.

"Of course! I will make her the happiest and most blessed person." Qing Shui knew that Di Chen"s heart would be more conflicted the closer they were to the Seven Stars Country. He didn"t know why she was asking these questions."

"You"re a good person. That smells nice, I"m so hungry," Di Chen smiled back at him.

Qing Shui didn"t know whether he should laugh or cry. He picked up the jade porcelain bowls that he"d prepared. Jade stones weren"t especially valuable in the World of the Nine Continents, so most of the rich would choose to eat with jade porcelain bowls. They were clean and attractive-looking, they even had the ability to absorb toxic substances.

They chatted leisurely for a little, but Qing Shui knew that she must"ve been feeling very conflicted right now. They were about to arrive at the place which was once very familiar to her. She didn"t exhibit the feeling of returning after wandering for so long, but that place still felt especially close and dear to her.

Qing Shui released the Diamond Gigantic Elephant at night and entered the Realm of Violet Jade Immortal!

The Ancient Strengthening Technique had broken through another two cycles over this period of time. He had gained a small amount of strength, which was better than nothing, so he was still a little pleased about it.

Without realizing it, he had already spent half of his time in the Realm of Violet Jade Immortal. Qing Shui was about to draw some talismans when he suddenly sensed the Diamond Gigantic Elephant"s distress call. He didn"t feeling like taking any chances, so he immediately exit the realm.

As soon as he came out, he could feel a wave of powerful aura rapidly approaching from the sky above, and it wasn"t too far away!

A Martial Saint!

A very familiar one on top of that!

Third Master Dongguo!

Qing Shui walked out of his tent. Before he could do anything else, he saw a familiar figure riding a gigantic Golden Light Eagle – Third Master Dongguo.

He smiled at Third Master Dongguo, "What a coincidence for us to meet here in during dead of the night. This is fate indeed."

Di Chen came over too. She raised her head up to look at Third Master Dongguo and then at Qing Shui, who gave her a nod. She then slowly walked to the side of the Diamond Gigantic Elephant nearby.

AST 616 – Third Level of "State of Immovable as Mountains", The Ultimate Move "Devil"s Cry"

"Indeed a coincidence! How do you feel now?" Third Master Dongguo smiled as he looked at Qing Shui before he s.h.i.+fted his gaze onto Di Chen who stood nearby.

"I feel nothing except for the fact that your previous words were incorrect," replied Qing Shui with a smile as he gazed at Third Master Dongguo who was riding a Golden Light Eagle in the sky.

"What words?" Third Master Dongguo had already forgotten his previous words.

"You said you had blurry vision, but I guess you are wrong about that. Not only is your vision blurry, but your eyes are already blind," said Qing Shui calmly.

After speaking, Qing Shui ignored Third Master Dongguo and retrieved the Nine Continent Boots from the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. As he equipped the boots, he also took out the Violet Gold Divine s.h.i.+eld and Big Dipper Sword.

"Haha, you have guts, kid. Even though you are about to face death, your att.i.tude is still the same. However, you are quite unlucky, do you know why I came to kill you today?" Third Master Dongguo laughed abruptly as he fixed his eyes on Qing Shui. His voice had a calm tone as he asked Qing Shui.

"I don’t know!" Qing Shui replied as he took out a G.o.dly Force Talisman and slapped it on his body! He was beginning to wonder if that the old man"s long-winded nonsense was spurred from him breathing too long during his days on earth.

"So you want to know why?" Third Master Dongguo frowned when he saw Qing Shui activating a talisman on his body.

"I want to know, but you probably won’t tell me the reasons. So no, I don’t want to know anymore." Qing Shui took another Divine s.h.i.+eld Talisman and slapped it on his body before he took another glance at the Third Master Dongguo.

"I, Third Master, will graciously make you understand before you die a horrible death. The reason is the woman beside you. Kid, you can’t just get any kind of woman you want, because this woman here possesses a Divine Body. Women of her type are men"s favorite kind of women. Unfortunately, you won’t have the luck to enjoy her body." Third Master Dongguo seemed pleased with himself for explaining his reason to Qing Shui.

"Divine Body?" Qing Shui was surprised that the old man could identify a woman by her bones. It seemed that this old fellow may have a type of dual cultivation technique up his sleeves.

Di Chen gazed at Qing Shui with faintly misty eyes. Although the veil had covered the redness on her extraordinary beautiful face, she was clearly angry at the senile Third Master Dongguo for his disrespectful words.

"Well then, I have said too much. Time to send you to h.e.l.l!" Third Master Dongguo retrieved a large scythe with a ferocious skull attached to the tang of his weapon. It was white and eerie as it stood out on the black blade adorned with tiny flickers of golden lights.

Black Gold Devil Scythe!

The three-meter long Black Gold Devil Scythe had a crescent shaped blade which extended to about a meter long, and the shaft of the scythe was as thick as an average adult’s arm. There was a dense gloomy aura which emanated from the eerie scythe.

Screech!

Third Master Dongguo rushed towards Qing Shui as he rode his Golden Light Eagle at an incredible speed. However, due to Qing Shui"s vantage point on the ground, the speed of the Golden Light Eagle seemed a bit slower than he had antic.i.p.ated.

Qing Shui calmly locked the "Emperor"s Qi" onto Third Master Dongguo, then he retreated a few steps as he launched a Binding Talisman and an Armor Break Talisman towards Third Master Dongguo!

Qing Shui"s speed had drastically changed for the better after he equipped the Nine Continent Boots that he had taken out of the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. At this rate, Qing Shui could even match up to the speed of the Golden Light Eagle.

Third Master Dongguo was undeniably shocked when he realized that his strength had been weakened by 20% by Qing Shui"s Emperor’s Qi. Anyone would have been caught off guard if one-fifth of their strength had vanished into thin air as if they were being cursed by an unknown force or something malevolent.

On top of that, he was also struck with a Binding Talisman. This caused him to deeply reconsider his opinion of the young man in front of him. Judging by his easygoing att.i.tude earlier, could he have been hiding his real power all along?

He was so young, there was no way he would be able do that&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;

However, within the next few seconds, Third Master Dongguo quickly realized that it could have been true. His expression gradually turned sour as he felt the imposing aura within Qing Shui growing increasingly stronger and more powerful.

Nature Energy!

State of Immovable as Mountains!

Thunder Slas.h.!.+

Frenzied Bull"s Strength!

Not in a million years would Third Master Dongguo think that Qing Shui was able to reach a terrifying level of cultivation at such a young age. A devil like him would only exist in those hidden influential clans he had never heard about. It was also considered rare that someone of his power would exist in those clans that had existed for generations and centuries. Otherwise, he would never feel this way about a young man at this age.

Nevertheless, Third Master Dongguo decided to rush towards Qing Shui while he rode his Golden Light Eagle at a faster speed than before. The Black Gold Devil Scythe in his hands was fuming with an overwhelming murderous intent.

Up!

Qing Shui quickly flew up in the air towards the incoming Golden Light Eagle. His face revealed a smirk as he inched closer to the eagle. This caused Third Master Dongguo to feel slightly uncomfortable and worried.

Before this, Qing Shui had been in an evasive mode from the beginning. Although Third Master Dongguo was able to sense Qing Shui"s imposing yet moderate aura, he thought he was still able to defeat him somehow. He also thought that Qing Shui had a special technique that could increase his aura to intimidate his opponents.

Demon Binding Ropes!

Just when the two of them were approaching to each other, Qing Shui suddenly released the Demon Binding Ropes and used the s.h.i.+eld Attack by bas.h.i.+ng his Violet Gold Divine s.h.i.+eld against the Golden Light Eagle"s "bird head" violently!

Bang!

Screeech!

A short painful screech resounded through the sky as a large amount of blood was spilled from the large flying beast. Even though the eagle was cla.s.sified as a Grade One Martial Saint flying beast, it still wasn"t able to endure a force of a thousand countries combined against its head. The skull of the Golden Light Eagle was cracked open and inevitably, its brains were blown out as well.

The Golden Light Eagle fell to the ground with a loud boom. As soon as the flying beast fell, Qing Shui immediately whipped the ropes to about 200 meters long and knocked everything into shambles. After a while, everything went silent.

The Demon Binding Ropes had lost its effect and returned back to Qing Shui"s hands.

Meanwhile, Third Master Dongguo was hovering in mid-air seemingly to have just recovered from the impact of the s.h.i.+eld Attack. Even though he was not directly bashed by Qing Shui"s Violet Gold Divine s.h.i.+eld, he could still feel the impact while riding on the back of the Golden Light Eagle. He looked up to see Qing Shui staring at him while giving him a cold smile nearby.

Third Master Dongguo was able to feel Qing Shui"s true strength from the impact while in his weakened state. However, he still wanted to show that he could be stronger than Qing Shui; this young man was strong because of his miscellaneous weapons and techniques. If Third Master Dongguo was not careful enough, he could easily lose his life.

Qing Shui quickly put back his Demon Binding Ropes, and with his Nine Continent Boots equipped, he decided to properly battle with Third Master Dongguo head on!

He pushed himself forward with both his legs in mid-air and rushed towards Third Master Dongguo in a flash. Qing Shui had a faint afterimage of a hawk rising through the sky as he sped towards Third Master Dongguo.

Piercing Sword!

Qing Shui struck a ray of mesmerizing starry lights from his Big Dipper Sword as he pointed his sword with the intention to stab the Third Master Dongguo"s throat.

"Argh! Go to h.e.l.l!"

Third Master Dongguo shouted while he swung his Black Gold Devil Scythe and separated his weapon into two complete scythes. He swung one of his scythes at Qing Shui while using the other to block Qing Shui"s Big Dipper Sword.

Qing Shui quickly held up his Violet Gold Divine s.h.i.+eld with his left hand and used it to block the incoming scythe attack!

At the same time, Qing Shui turned the stabbing point of his Big Dipper Sword to somewhere else!

Art of Pursuing!

Bang!

An echoing loud sound rang out in the air as Qing Shui was pushed back from the vibration of the impact with his s.h.i.+eld. His Qi was disrupted, causing the flow of blood inside his body to be agitated. Luckily, his defense was strong enough to withstand the impact, and so he took a deep breath and rushed towards Third Master Dongguo once again.

Third Master Dongguo, on the other hand, was inflicted with Qing Shui"s Art of Pursuing, causing his speed to decrease by 20%, and his weight to increase by 20%. He felt the need to vomit blood from the extremely uncomfortable sensation in his body.

The 20% decrease in speed and 20% increase in weight had a serious impact on Third Master Dongguo"s ability. On top of that, he was already weakened by the Emperor"s Qi and Binding Talisman, which had basically crippled his speed completely.

Originally, Qing Shui and Third Master Dongguo had more or less the same speed. However, Qing Shui"s speed had doubled tremendously after he had equipped the Nine Continent Boots, so he was seemingly moving like a ghost in front of Third Master Dongguo. Third Master Dongguo"s speed had been weakened by half as well, which was evidently much slower than Qing Shui. It was impossible for him to keep up with Qing Shui"s speed anymore.

Roar!

Qing Shui abandoned his sword and released the Tiger Form!

State of Immovable as Mountains!

Qing Shui kept defending himself from Third Master Dongguo"s Black Gold Devil Scythe using his Violet Gold Divine s.h.i.+eld. However, he also equipped the G.o.dly Divine Armor as a precaution, in case something unexpected happened.

Tiger Claw!

Tiger Laceration!

Critical Tiger Claw!

Ripping Tiger Claw!

&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip;

Each style of the Tiger Form was executed with a clear tiger roar against Third Master Dongguo, and at the same time, Qing Shui"s aura was growing stronger by the minute. It was as if his aura was trying to reach the highest point of the sky.

The force of the "State of Immovable as Mountains" was an inspiration taken from the stone monument of the "Crouching Tiger on the Mountains" by Qing Shui himself. During the moment his aura was rising, it was as if he could see that very same stone monument once more.

A gigantic stone depicting a tiger was placed at the pinnacle of the mountain. The tiger was able to shake the Heavens and Earth with its sovereign aura, suppressing everything in its way with sublimity. Even the giant flying beasts would not dare to fly close to the stone tablet on the mountain.

It was a staggering and dominating aura that would shatter the heavens and rattle the earth if it was to infuse itself into a beast roar.

Roar!

Suddenly, Qing Shui let out a Tiger"s Roar that could easily shake the soul of the living. It was a deep yet thunderous roar that would not only tremble a person physically, but would scare them out of their wits as well.

The aura of the "State of Immovable as Mountains" had successfully broken through an impa.s.sable barrier from before and had started a brand new circulation accordingly.

It was a breakthrough&h.e.l.lip;.

The third level of the "State of Immovable as Mountains"!

Swoosh&h.e.l.lip;.

Before Qing Shui could celebrate, he felt a sudden swis.h.i.+ng noise coming from Third Master Dongguo"s Black Gold Devil Scythe. The swis.h.i.+ng was so fast that Qing Shui was beginning to panic about not being able to react in time. Most importantly, the unbearable piercing noise from the scythe sounded like the wailings of a devil.

Devil"s Cry!

The Black Gold Devil Scythe"s ultimate move was able to double the attack speed of the user in an instant, as well as letting out a powerful devil wailing that would shock the very soul of human beings, causing them to become dizzy temporarily.

Because of that, it was considered a deadly ultimate move on those with insufficient spiritual energy – they could easily lose their lives in that short amount of time being idle. Most notably, when the scythe let out a wailing, the user"s attack speed would instantaneously receive a boost twice the amount of the original attack speed.

The ultimate move!

Third Master Dongguo had been using this move for hundreds of years to kill dozens of martial warriors of the same level. When he was still a Grade Five Martial Saint, he managed to kill a Grade Six Martial Saint with his own ability. That was one of Third Master Dongguo"s proudest moments, and perhaps the reason that he became famous in the Duanmu City. So in recent years, there weren"t many Martial Saints of the same level as Third Master Dongguo who would challenge him to a fight, because the piercing "Devil"s Cry" could easily stun his opponents regardless of how careful they were around Third Master Dongguo. Once the opponents were caught in a dizzy state, their lives would be over in an instant.

Luckily, Qing Shui had a strong spiritual energy that could withstand the horrifying cries of the Devil"s Cry move. The Violet Gold Divine s.h.i.+eld seemed to have been conditioned to respond to the attack on its own even when Qing Shui was stunned for a brief moment.

Bang!

Qing Shui was knocked a few feet backwards. Not only was Third Master Dongguo"s attack speed doubled, his strength had also increased by 50%. If it wasn"t for Qing Shui"s G.o.dly Divine Armor that could absorb half of the damage from the attack, Qing Shui would definitely suffer a severe wound on his body.

Blood streamed down from the corner of his mouth despite being inflicted with light damage. He remembered Lady Duanmu"s words: "Never underestimate other people. Put forth everything you have to complete one simple job. You will die with deep regrets if you fail miserably in one simple task."

Third Master Dongguo had a gloomy expression on his face when he saw that Qing Shui had evaded his attack. He thought he could definitely kill Qing Shui with his "Devil"s Cry" move, but it had proven to be futile. If the "Devil"s Cry" could not kill him, then it would be quite difficult to kill him with the same move.

Demon Binding Ropes!

Qing Shui used his Demon Binding Ropes again on Third Master Dongguo. The current Demon Binding Ropes could barely bind a Grade Six Martial Saint, but only for one breath of time. It was a sufficient amount of time to wiggle one finger and nothing more.

If Third Master Dongguo"s strength was bit stronger, then the Demon Binding Ropes would lose all its effects. After all, the Demon Binding Ropes was still only in its first level; it was still an elementary technique.

Armor Break Talisman!

The duration of the Demon Binding Ropes was short, but he had ample time to execute a Heavenly Talisman on Third Master Dongguo! With Qing Shui"s 40% of overall defense, he had easily decreased Third Master Dongguo"s defense by about the strength of 1100 countries.

It was time to attack!

Qing Shui took out his Big Dipper Sword!

s.h.i.+eld Attack!

Bang!

As predicted, Third Master Dongguo was inevitably knocked out by the attribute of the s.h.i.+eld Attack. Qing Shui took the chance and used his abnormal speed to catch up to Third Master Dongguo who was sent flying in the air. While Third Master Dongguo was still unstable in terms of his movement, Qing Shui struck using his Big Dipper Sword without hesitation.

Sword of the Fifth Wave!

Bang bang bang&h.e.l.lip;.

Qing Shui swiftly attacked the Black Gold Devil Scythe with precision and brutality. A quick series of loud clanks was followed by the scythe being knocked off from Third Master Dongguo"s hands.

At that moment when his weapons fell out of his hands, he panicked. On a normal battlefield, weapons have the ability to decide their user"s fate. A sword wielder would have a higher chance of survival when faced with bare-handed a.s.sailants. This would be a simple ill.u.s.tration of the importance of a weapon during a battle.

The concept of weapons would also apply in the battle between two powerful warriors who possess a Divine Weapon. Divine Weapons were designed to bring out the best and strongest lethal power of their user. After all, no matter how powerful one"s cultivation was, they would not be able to withstand the devastation of the Divine Weapons with just their flesh and blood alone.