Ancient Strengthening Technique

316 - Handsome Reward, The Mutated Golden Horn Firetail Fish

In addition, there was even more reward - a stalk of Millennium Nine Petal Lotus Flower. It could speed up the growth of living things in the water within a radius of one hundred metres by twenty percent!

Reading up to this point, Qing Shui was not surprised anymore. There were quite a number of weird organisms like this. One thousand years was the biggest standard, regardless of whether it was a plant or animal.

Reward: The ratio of time in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal would be increased to 150:1 and the owner’s time in the realm would be increased to six hours!

By this point, Qing Shui was so surprised he couldn’t even speak. The fact that a year outside was equivalent to one hundred years in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal was already perverse enough for Qing Shui, but now a year outside would be one hundred and fifty years in the realm…...

On top of that, his time in the realm had been increased from four hours to six. This would mean that he could stay longer in the realm…...

Qing Shui wanted to laugh. The most important thing was that his time outside would not be wasted as long as he entered every night and ensured that he had sufficient rest within the realm before exiting.

“Those people of the great sect can buy or trade for Spirit Concentrating Pill, but I have the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. Surely I won’t lose to them!” Qing Shui clenched his fists tightly.

He continued looking at the remaining list of rewards. The rewards of this Fifth Level of Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal were really impressive!

Reward: One Vermillion Fruit. Ripened only once every fifty years. Effects included increasing the power of meridians by one percent and the power of Qi of Xiantian by one percent. It could also be used for wine-making, however, the effects would be lowered. Only a hundred could be eaten at most.

Qing Shui wanted to scold someone right now. If only one Vermillion Fruit ripened every fifty years, it would be a dream to be able to eat a hundred without the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. Vermillion Fruits could be found in the world of nine continents from time to time, however, each and every one of them was extremely valuable and could only be traded with items of at least the same value.

Reward: Mutated Plum Blossoms. Could be used for winemaking. Had slight meridian cleansing effects and refines muscles and bones!

Qing Shui was pretty satisfied after looking through the rewards of the Fifth Level of Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. He walked over to the Tree of Energy Fruit. There were about ten peculiar dark blue fruits which he picked.

“That takes care of the Beauty Pellet. Liu-Li’s scar can be removed!” he thought happily to himself.

He took a few steps to the left and stopped before the root of the Vermillion Fruit which was equally curly, old and strong. The Vermillion Fruit was a vine plant. It was only three meters tall and bent in mid air without relying on any other trees or plants. It appeared to be a particularly curvy small tree; weird but strong.

Qing Shui looked at the walnut-sized blood red fruit. The Vermillion Fruit looked a little like cherries, so red and translucent, and very fragrant. He could feel the passion of the fruit from its faint scorching aura.

“Don’t tell me it has aphrodisiac effects……” Qing Shui didn’t eat after plucking it and just put it aside with the Energy Fruits.

He walked to the pond. Perhaps it shouldn’t be called a pond now since its current size was big enough to be a small lake. Qing Shui looked at the clear bed of the pond.

“Oh, that must be coral reefs!”

They extended over fifty meters in the depths of the pond and had grown to the height of about ten meters. It was still considered an enormous object in a lake which was about eighty meters in diameter and fifty meters deep. It spread along a winding path and which already fifty meters and he estimated that they would be about two hundred meters long when stretched out.

Qing Shui was speechless. Coral reefs relied on their structure as a skeleton, which was formed from the calcium carbonate secreted by other corals and the bones or shells of other living organisms.

Qing Shui saw many other vegetations of varying heights on it!

Thousand-Year Blood Coral!

The Blood Corals were so beautiful! They were blood red and looked like a palm. There was also seaweed.

Black fish, turtles and many other fish and prawns were swimming about. It seemed as if they were very attracted to the coral reefs. The fishes and prawns were different than those in his previous world. Every prawn was about half a foot long and crabs were as big as a human head and of a different color. There were also a variety of species of fish which were equally odd. Qing Shui knew that these species were part of the reward.

Normally the rewards of the Fifth Level of the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal were not too bad, but Qing Shui had no clue what these fishes, prawns, crabs, green-skinned turtles, eels that looked like snakes and glowing silver old clams were used for.

“I should catch some later to taste. Let’s see if there are any strange effects.”

“Yup.”

He then saw a pair of “Golden Horn Firetail Fish” that piqued his interest. The fish were about one foot long. They were gorgeous, like a work of art. A sharp and shiny golden horn, which was as thick as a pinky finger, protruded out from the fish’s head and looked like it had just hardened. The fish was green but its tail looked like ball of fire. It was indeed visually attractive.

“So this is the Golden Horn Firetail Fish that one can eat only five per year. Every fish can increase the strength by a hundred jin. The magical fish has one percent of hope to allow people with strength below the Martial King grade to advance by a level.” As the two little fish swam around, Qing Shui looked at how the other fishes and turtles would steer clear of them.

“These little fish are this powerful?” Qing Shui was curious. The black fish and turtles that he reared were quick-witted and powerful, but even they were swimming away as if escaping for their lives.

Qing Shui looked at the Golden Horn Firetail Fish couple swim recklessly towards him. A black turtle suddenly appeared from a corner. Qing Shui could see the panic in its small eyes. It was struggling to get out of their way.

The moment one of the Golden Horn Firetail Fish waved its tail, a dot of gold connected to a cluster of flames appeared and pierced through the body of the turtle in an instant.

Traces of blood appeared and quickly disappeared. The dead body of the turtle was instantly and cleanly devoured by a group of black fish and other fishes.

Qing Shui was shocked!

“How much speed and strength were required at that instant? It pierced through the shell of the turtle from a foot away………...”

“These little things are this aggressive?”

Qing Shui looked at those two little fellows disappear into the coral reefs. He remembered the Golden Medicinal Turtle and the Thousand Year Old Clam. He wondered if they would fight with each other. It was quite worrying.

He looked at the scene of snow white plum blossoms nearby. He didn’t expect them to be used for winemaking. Wasn’t it for the “Plum blossom wine” that had the slight effect of cleansing bone marrow?

But he wasn’t surprised since the Tiger Bone Liquor had an equally powerful effect. Even the normal turtles and black fish that he reared in his own Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal had extraordinary effects, let alone these mutated plum blossoms.

Seeing these plum blossoms reminded Qing Shui of the poems that praised the beauty of the plum blossoms in his previous world.

Blooming vibrantly along the road, fragrant at unexpected times.

Chang’e could only be accompanied by the moon, the Snow Goddess was colder than the harsh snow.

His hands were filled with flowers, without a destination, they parted in great sadness.

For whom did they bloom this early? Unable to wait for the Spring.

The north branch at the deep valley is always late to blossom every year.

Yet her true nobility and beauty are only known during the coldest and harshest winter.

The stronger the snow and wind, she stood even more majestically as the noblest among all.

Even if she withers away when the season goes, she denies the pity from the East.

Plum blossoms had an unflinching and unyielding spirit. In fact, plum blossoms, Pines and Bamboos were known as the “Three Durable Friends of Winter”.

During the harsh winter, the plum blossoms stood fearlessly in the worst environment. She was neither afraid of the cold weather nor frozen ground, the beatings of the icy snow nor the merciless blades of the frosty wind. She held her head high gracefully in full bloom. One would feel encouraged by seeing the strength, uprightness and noble temperament of the plum blossoms.

“I should try to brew some plum blossom wine when I have the time. It will surely be delicious.” Qing Shui smiled at the plum blossoms that looked like white snow.

What made Qing Shui the happiest was the fact that raising the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal to the fifth level also upgraded it tremendously. Although sometimes everything in front of him was hazy, nothing was impossible given time and perseverance.

Foolish man shifting the mountains [1]. Dripping water penetrates the stone [2]. Jingwei, the mythical bird tries to fill the ocean with stone [3]. Everyone knew about perseverance and willpower, but all of these were within the limits of time.

Time had been extended now from four hours to six hours. Due to this, Qing Shui had to readjust his time of entering the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal to in between eleven at night to dawn and had to stay there up to an hour.

The realm was levelled up last night, before eleven o’clock. Qing Shui planned to stay in there for three hours, then go to the Stone Monument Region in the afternoon and then enter again at night to use up all of the day’s remaining hours. Then he would wait until after eleven o’clock to enter the realm again.

So from now on, he would enter the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal for three hours before eleven o’clock, and enter again for three hours after eleven!

This was also to be on the safe side, since sometimes Qing Shui had to hide in the realm. If he used up all the realm’s time at the beginning of the day, he would regret it if he got himself into trouble one day.

He just received gifts from the Song Clan, and now the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal had levelled up. This made Qing Shui instantly elated, as if he had struck gold.

Due to time extension, he suddenly had a lot more time than before so he decided to split his visits into two. Every three hours in reality was seventeen days in the spatial realm.

He cultivated first, then prepared to concoct the Beauty Pellet since the ingredients were all set!

Alchemy Recipe for Beauty Pellet: Beauty Fruit, Energy Enhancing Fruit, Agility Enhancing Fruit, Endurance Enhancing Fruit, Physique Fruit, Jade Bamboo, Female Zhenzi, Thousand year Earth Essence, Musk Fragrance, thousand year cockatrice’s blood, five thousand years turtle’s blood, thousand year Lingzhi, thousand year Ginseng and thousand year Fleeceflower Root!

The effects of Beauty Pellet: To retain beauty for thirty years, and increase twenty percent of all strengths!

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Note:

[1] Foolish man shifts the mountains: A story about a foolish man who was so determined to move two mountains that he told God that even if he couldn’t move them before he died, his descendants would continue to try achieving the task. Touched by his determination, God ordered two deities to move the mountains for him.

[2] Dripping water penetrates the stone: Constant perseverance yields success.

[3] Jingwei, the mythical bird tries to fill the ocean with stone: Determination in the face of impossible odds.