Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 529 - The Success of Xiantian Golden Pellet, Heavenly Dan of the Third Grade

The success rate of a Xiantian Golden Pellet was rumored to be too low, and this made Qing Shui a little nervous. Although he felt that it would have a higher success rate if it was concocted by him, he couldn’t really be sure because there was no way to confirm it.

As soon as some medicinal ingredients that had been refined were put into the Golden Flint Iron Cauldron in sequence, the primordial flame was used to heat it up. At the same time, he wrapped his spiritual sense around the Golden Flint Iron Cauldron.

The gentle primordial flames started burning!

As the intensity of the fire increased, it became whiter. This was Qing Shui’s first time separating the Yin and Yang aspects of the primordial flames while concocting. The snowy white flames looked extremely odd.

Gu gu!

Qing Shui put in the prepared demonic beast’s cores one after another and then continued to raise the intensity of the flames. He waited until sounds were emitted from within the Golden Flint Iron Cauldron before adding in the remaining ingredients.

Qing Shui had only managed to add in every medicinal ingredient that was needed to concoct the Xiantian Golden Pellet after a full ten hours. They were then left to be roasted by that snowy white flames for approximately another four hours.

The flames were extremely intense and the snowy white smoke was even more like a sharp blade!

All of a sudden, the intensity of the flames turned gentle. Its snowy white color gradually became muddy and eventually turned into a pitch black colored flame that was as odd as a fairy.

Qing Shui shut his eyes, but one could tell that he invested his entire body and mind to the task at hand. The flames were constantly changing and endless cracking noises could be heard in the Golden Flint Iron Cauldron.

After two hours, Qing Shui slowly stretched out his left hand. A snowy white flame rose up from his hand and was brought together with the pitch black flame on his right hand. The two flames simultaneously burned at the bottom part of the Golden Flint Iron Cauldron.

The two flames varied endlessly. They’d burn brighter or dimmer at times. Qing Shui would overlap and merge the two types of flames together sometimes. However, this wasn’t the primordial flame.

The flame flashed. A gray and simple colored flame then rose up. This was the primordial flame…

……...

The time in the Realm of Violet Jade Immortal passed in a flash!

Nine days!

It was already the ninth day. Qing Shui’s face was a little pale and small beads of sweat could be seen forming on his forehead. But the primordial flame in his hands never ceased.

Qing Shui suddenly snapped open his eyes. The flame in his hand abruptly rose up before receding again. Then it’d rise up, and recede once again… just like the ocean waves.

Bang!

His heart sank when an explosive noise rang out. This noise was an indication of failure…

Qing Shui’s mood plummeted within an instant. He was about to stop but then he realized that a golden pellet about the size of a pigeon egg had appeared in the Golden Flint Iron Cauldron in his spiritual sense…

Qing Shui hurriedly maintained the flame that was burning in his hand and at the same time reprimanding himself for his carelessness. He had almost repeated an old mistake again. But the noise from earlier had been really shocking to him.

His mood quickly turned better as he was once again cheered up. The pellet had been formed and the final thing he had to do was to nurture the pellets!

It took one whole day!

Which just happened to be nine days!

Qing Shui was mentally exhausted. He circulated a full cycle of Ancient Strengthening Technique as he lied down and was instantly out cold.

……...

“Haha, Grandfather, I have finally recovered! On top of that, I’m at the peak of Martial King!” Tan Yang exclaimed in excitement.

Tan Yang brandished his fists in the courtyard of the Tan Residence. A wave of powerful strength shook the surroundings, crushing many precious flowers and plants around him.

The Tan Clan’s old man watched Tan Yang, his eyes were filled with happiness. There was a trace of an unconcealed smile in his eyes.

“Thank you, Grandfather. I have never thought that this day would come,” Tan Yang said excitedly. He had stopped and walked over to the old man. He was so excited that even his eyebrows seemed to be throbbing slightly.

“Yang’er, cultivate well over this period of time. Absorb all the leftover effects of the ‘Origin Returning Pill!” The old man advised gently.

“Understood, Grandfather. Yang’er will not let you down again. How did Grandfather get your hands on this Origin Returning Pill? It’s indeed powerful,” although Tan Yang was excited, he was still curious how his grandfather had managed to get this medicinal pill.

“Let’s say that your luck was good. Someone in the family found an underground shrine not long ago. This Origin Returning Pill is one of the most precious items that have been discovered.”

“What grade is this medicinal pill to be able to fully restore my body? Even my strength has reached the peak of Martial King,” Tan Yang exclaimed excitedly. He hadn’t stopped smiling ever since he found out that his strength could be recovered.

“I am not too sure too. But it is definitely at least a Royal Grade. It was too bad that your strength was a little too weak. Otherwise, it’ll be increased even more. But it is considered your destiny that it could allow you to recover.”

“Qing Shui, you have become a cripple, hahaha…”

……..

By the time Qing Shui woke up, half the day had passed. He got up, walked towards the Golden Flint Iron Cauldron that had already cooled down and eagerly lifted off its lid.

A wave of indescribable fragrance filled his nostrils and it made one felt enlightened. Qing Shui observed the Xiantian Golden Pellet that he had concocted without stopping to sleep or rest for nine days.

It was the size of a pigeon egg, sparkling in gold and exuding a great spiritual qi. Qing Shui quickly found a slightly larger porcelain bottle to store the Xiantian Golden Pellet. He was afraid that the effects of the medicine would be reduced if it was left exposed in the air like this.

Qing Shui was quite happy to know that the Snow Melted Wood could actually be substituted by the ‘Plum Blossoms’ of the Realm of Violet Jade Immortal because this had allowed him to concoct the Xiantian Golden Pellet. It was a pity that the pellet would not allow one to go further than the Xiantian level. But Qing Shui was satisfied enough already. He was only after those 500 years of lifespan in the first place.

Anyway, his mother and a few from the Qing Clan would never be able to set their foot into the Xiantian realm. As for the other who had never consumed the Crippling Divine Pill, Qing Shui would think up of a way to let them enter the Xiantian realm with their own strength.

He thought about his grandfather and also planned to let him consume the Xiantian Golden Pellet to be on the safe side. He was quite old and his body was no longer suitable to take the battering of the Xiantian realm.

Qing Shui felt extremely relaxed now that he had managed to concoct the Xiantian Golden Pellet. He leisurely walked around in the realm and took a look at the Flower of Life. The third flower had bloomed and covered the entire plantation in the Realm of Violet Jade Immortal. All the growth of plants under its shade would be increased by 30%, cutting short 30% of the time for their growth.

This referred to the time in the realm, so the Flower of Life’s effect was indeed great. A fruit that required 100 years to ripen only required 70 years now. Only 700 years were needed to grow 1,000-Year medicinal herbs. If this was changed to real time…

The 1000-year Gloomy Wood had now grown into a small tree that was about 200 meters tall. It was leafless and only had some sturdy branches but Qing Shui wasn’t in the mood to study it right now.

So he would leave it alone for now. He couldn’t deny the fact that this thing had a very slow growth rate. He was the one who named the 1000-Year Gloomy Wood because he didn’t even know what was it called in the World of the Nine Continents.

Would it bear fruit?

Qing Shui realized that he had a very conventional thinking. As long as it was a plant, he would wonder if it was capable of bearing fruits.

The plum blossoms still needed some time to grow back so Qing Shui decided to wait for a little before concocting another Xiantian Golden Pellet. A batch of plum blossom was only sufficient for about two concoctions. With the Flower of Life as a catalyst and the time in Realm of Violet Jade Immortal, he could concoct roughly about four pellets in a year.

The number of people needed to consume the Xiantian Golden Pellet was not a lot. Qing Shui estimated that about ten pellets would be sufficient for now!

But Qing Shui didn’t know if he could stay at the Qing Residence for up to two years when he remembered about the Heavenly Palace and the Sword Tower!

Sword Tower eradicated, he also needed to visit the Central Continent. It was a pity that he couldn’t break through to the Sixth Heavenly Layer. He had only planned to leave for the Central Continent after he had broken through to the Sixth Heavenly Layer.

“Oh, the Demon Refining Furnace!”

He unintentionally saw that Demon Refining Furnace that he had dug out from the Yan Clan Treasury. It had been left sitting in the Realm of Violet Jade Immortal for a very long time and he had never gotten around to try it.

He suddenly remembered about that tiger crystal, which was a mass of energy that had been refined. It was the condensed essence of the demonic beast that was refined.

“Seems I’ll have to try it when I get the chance!”

Alchemy, cultivating the Back Connecting Fist, Elephant Form, and the Blue Lotus Art…

He didn’t want to leave any of it out because any one of them could be the opportunity to a breakthrough. Qing Shui greatest strength was that he could endure loneliness, hardships and had a shocking amount of willpower.

Bang!

The Heaven Shaking Hammer landed on the ground of the realm. In addition to his qi aura and shield, the Thousand Hammer Technique had now become Qing Shui’s strongest offensive technique.

“Ngh!”

When the final blow of the Thousand Hammer Technique landed, Qing Shui felt the golden ‘Heavenly Dan’ in his upper dantian started to rotate wildly and was exuding a powerful aura.

Pa!

Qing Shui happily smiled at the familiar crisp noise. A surge of energy poured forth into his body, making every 360 pores in his body felt good.

It leveled up! Heavenly Dan of the Third Grade!

He used Inner Sight to look at the Heavenly Dan in his upper dantian and felt satisfied. A million jin of strength and defense was not a small amount. The ‘Heavenly Dan’ was considered a supplementary technique above the legendary grade and was one of the strongest cultivation techniques.

The size of the ‘Heavenly Dan’ in the upper dantian didn’t seem to have any changes, but it appeared to be more thriving and lustrous. This was a great surprise to Qing Shui. He had been crippled for more than three years without cultivating at all. He didn’t expect to breakthrough so soon when he had just recovered not long ago.

It was a good thing anyway. Qing Shui would always welcome more of these accidental surprises.

Half a year passed by very quickly!

The entire Qing Clan’s strength rose tremendously over this half a year. Qing Bei was already at the peak of Houtian. Qing You was also almost there. The strongest among them was Luan Luan, Mingyue Gelou, and Yiye Jiange.

Within this half a year Luan Luan had already reached the peak of Houtian at the mere age of nine and a half years old. Her strength lied in her application of cultivation arts.

Although most of the Qing Clan had gotten used to fact that a ten-year-old had reached the peak of Houtian, they still found it hard to believe. Only Qing Shui and Yiye Jiange felt unfazed by it. For Luan Luan who possessed the Heart of Seven Orifices, all of this was within their expectations.

Now every morning, Luan Luan did her morning practice while the other three generations of Qing Clan watched. This was Qing Shui’s decision. Luan Luan, who had a pure and innocent heart, had a unique side to her when she was cultivating the Nine Animals Mimicry Technique, so Qing Shui wanted to see if it could stimulate them.

The same went for Mingyue Gelou. Her Tiger Form had even surpassed Qing Shui. So Qing Shui wanted them to watch each other and see if they could find some inspiration that would be useful to them.

Wenren Wushuang hadn’t changed much over the half a year. She still hadn’t recovered her memories, but she had started to accept the people around her, although Qi Yi was still the person she relied on the most. She also got along the best with Qing Qing.

Qing Shui didn’t form a very close connection with her, but they remained normal friends with each other. This made Qing Shui felt particularly strange about it.

He wanted to help and care for her more, but he wasn’t able to do it. On top of that, the number of people around him had increased. So within the past half a year, he didn’t really manage to break through in anything.

But he had gotten back on track in cultivating his mental state. With Yiye Jiange, Canghai Mingyue and the others around, they had many people to ask if they had any problems.

“Wushuang, let me bring you to a place~!”

Wenren Wushuang looked at Qing Shui and hesitated for a moment. Within the past half year, she learned that this man called Qing Shui was like the soul of this clan. Most importantly, he was also surrounded by a few women with beauty that could topple kingdoms. Neither of them was inferior to each other and they seemed to share an unordinary relationship with each other.

He was powerful and usually looked refined, although he had been a tyrannical hoodlum the first time they met…

“Uhn,” Wenren Wushuang gave a response!

They left the Qing Clan’s Medicinal Store after Qing Shui informed his family. He wanted to take her out on a walk to see if it could help jog her memory a little.

The Night Fragrance Court’s former address!

Qing Shui followed along the familiar road that led to the Night Fragrance Court!

“Wushuang, see if there’s anything familiar to you here!” He pointed at some of the things near to them.

Wenren Wushuang observed her surroundings and then shook her head at Qing Shui!

The Night Fragrance Court looked different now. They were standing at a place that had now become an inn. However, he didn’t mention anything about her older sister to her.

Qing Shui wanted her to recall the memories by herself, but he had to resort to this method because he was out of options!

“Wushuang, is your memory coming back to you?”

“No… Not yet. I just suddenly feel a little suffocated in my heart…” she answered while shaking her head.

Qing Shui was suddenly struck by a realization. Perhaps Wenren Wushuang getting used to life without her memories was also a type of blessing?

“Let’s return. I don’t like the feeling of being here,” she gently said.

“Alright, let’s return!” Qing Shui was actually prepared to bring her to the place where Wenren Wugou was buried, but then he hesitated. In the end, he decided to leave the decision until next time.

Almost another half a year passed in the blink of an eye and new year was approaching. Qing Shui finally got to concoct the Xiantian Golden Pellet once again. He was overjoyed that there were no failures this time, although he fell a little short of the ingredients, specifically the plum blossoms, peaches and the 4,000-Year Demonic Beast’s Cores.

But now that he had accumulated enough of them, his wish had been fulfilled.

He returned to the Qing Clan to happily gather with everyone under one roof on the first day of the lunar year. After their meal, they gathered together to chat. Qing Bei was pushing Little Changfeng to ask for new year’s presents.

In the end, the little fellow received so much that he didn’t even have enough hands to hold them. Almost everyone in Qing Clan gave him a present and of course, the same went for Luan Luan and Yuchang.

Qing Shui gave the little fellow a ‘Multi-Fragrant Fruit’. It was not only mouth-wateringly delicious but also had a refreshing taste. The sweet fragrance would linger for an entire day.

Qing Shui gifted the few women clothes. They were plain clothes that were similar to Di Chen!

“Brother Qing Shui, none for us?” Qing You looked at him, crestfallen.

Qing Shui took out the armors and weapons he had prepared for the three generations of the Qing Clan. They were all forged by him!

Qing Bei asked for another set so she basically had two sets!

“Grandfather, mother and uncle, I have a present that I’ve been wanting to give you all too. It has taken me a few years to prepare but it is finally done this year,” Qing Shui took out a brocade box with a smile.

“Oh, we have too. Haha, what is it that have taken you a few years to prepare?” Qing Luo chuckled.

Qing Shui passed a small porcelain bottle to each of them, and specially passed two more sets of plain clothes for Qing Yi. One of them was the same as the ones received by the other ladies while the other was forged out of the fur of the big tiger with wind attribute.

“Xiantian Golden Pellet?”

Lin Zhanhan exclaimed in shock when he saw Qing Luo opening the small porcelain bottle. This was the first time the calm old man had lost his composure.