Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 845 – Locating the Sky Penetrating Grass, Golden Bloodline, the powerful Thunderous Beast

“Are you looking for the Sky Penetrating Grass urgently?”

Qing Shui nodded as he smiled at Tang Wude, “That’s right. I was hoping that you would give me some directions.”

“From what I know, it is basically impossible to get your hands on one, here in Central Continent City.” Yang Wude replied Qing Shui, after thinking for a moment.

“Do you mean that it can’t be found here?” Qing Shui was rather disappointed even though he did expect that. He looked at Tang Wude, waiting for him to explain.

“No. It definitely exists and we have it here in Central Continent. You can even find those that are more than ten thousand years. But, no one is willing to sell any, no matter what price you’d offer.”

“Because it is too valuable?” Qing Shui got the gist of the matter.

“It is more than valuable. Sky Penetrating Grass lives up to its name. Many cultivators long to obtain such a saint-level herb. If one consumes a Sky Penetrating Grass that is more than 5000 years old, it will change the constitution of the person and they will get a gifted physique. If a cultivator consumes it, his level of cultivation will also increase immensely as his constitution changes. At the minimum, he will definitely be more powerful than the average cultivator. However, how effective it will be is based on the user’s original strength and potential. Besides that, it has great regenerative properties which can boost one’s lifespan by 200 years.” Tang Wude explained leisurely.

Qing Shui now understood why he could not find any Sky Penetrating Grass anywhere. Even if someone possessed one, they would never let anyone else know. In his mind, he had summarized it succinctly. It was a special herb with miraculous properties.

In the world of the Nine Continents, everything was expensive. Techniques, rare medicinal pills and herbs, divine weapons…

The only things that could tempt powerful cultivators were things which share the rarity category of divine weapons, Sky Penetrating Grass that is more than 5000 years, Yang Revitalising Grass, Spirit Summoning Grass, Golden Buddha Aura Lotus…

This was also the reason why Qing Shui bought all the Requiem Grass he could. Mixed with a type of demon beast blood, it could create a medicinal pill that could rival the effects of a Spirit Summoning Grass. He had discovered this in the Poison Scriptures. So regardless of the cost, he would buy any Requiem Grass he saw as it was actually considerable rare.

“How can I boost my chances of obtaining it?” Qing Shui asked. He definitely must obtain this Sky Penetrating Grass unless it does not exist in the World of the Nine Continents.

“It is impossible to get something like that from another person. Only extraordinary people can obtain such an item and these people don’t lack money. They might not be willing to even exchange it for a divine weapon,” Tang Wude said softly.

Despite the allure of divine weapons, everyone unconsciously hopes that they themselves can become stronger. This required a lot more time, so it was important to increase one’s cultivation level and lifespan. As the Sky Penetrating Grass has the properties to do both, it was obvious why no one would even reveal that they have it. There are many people out there who would kill to obtain such an item.

Actually, the thing that bothered Qing Shui most was whether it was worth using the Sky Penetrating Grass to create Ren Meridian Strengthening Pellet and Du Meridian Strengthening Pellet since its effects were almost at the level of Yang Revitalising Grass or Golden Buddha Aura Lotus.

He suddenly found it laughable. The alchemy recipes he obtained from his practice of Alchemy would never be wrong. The effects of the Ren Meridian Strengthening Pellet and Du Meridian Strengthening Pellet would also definitely be impressive.

But the description of their effects were not convincing? It might not even match the effects of consuming the Sky Penetrating Grass itself. However, the description of each medicine might be incomplete. It doesn’t actually state the miraculous effects of consuming both Ren Meridian Strengthening Pellet and Du Meridian Strengthening Pellet at the same time.

But the greatest problem right now was getting the herb!

“Where would this herb appear?” Qing Shui guessed from Tang Wude’s reply that he should have an idea of the location of the herb.

“Sky Penetrating Grass usually grows in places with little human activity but I know a place where it is frequently seen.” Tang Wude mulled over it and frowned.

“Where? Brother, please tell me.”

“Qing Shui, I have no problem telling you the location but that place is too dangerous. You…” Tang Wude looked at Qing Shui, and was hesitant.

“Don’t worry. I won’t be rash.” Qing Shui smiled, feeling overjoyed.

“Alright, I’ll tell you but you must promise me that you won’t rush in rashly. With your capabilities, you would definitely have chance some time later. “ Tang Wude knew that Qing Shui would definitely go searching so he could only advise him thus.

“Brother, I promise. I don’t want to die so early,” Qing Shui smiled and said.

“You can find it at the Sky Penetrating Mountains of the Eastern Victory Divine Continent,” Tang Wude said calmly looking at Qing Shui.

“Sky Penetrating Grass comes from Sky Penetrating Mountains? That does make sense. Do you know where these mountains are?” Eastern Victory Divine Continent was huge, even though it was possible to find a location with its name, it would still take time.

“Just like how Giant Beasts Mountains lies to the east of Greencloud Continent. Similarly, Sky Penetrating Mountains is at the eastern edge of Eastern Victory Divine Continent. The mountains also contain the highest concentration of Spiritual Qi in that continent so it is incomparably dangerous. No one knows how vast the mountains are. Likewise, no one can estimate the number of possible treasures and opportunities within it. Qing Shui, you must think about it carefully. Don’t be rash,” Tang Wude reminded him once again.

“Thank you, brother. Don’t worry!” Qing Shui could feel Tang Wude’s sincerity.

“I don’t know what to give you but here!” Tang Wude took out a jade pendant and handed it to Qing Shui.

Qing Shui immediately spotted the Black Treasured Stone on the jade pendant. Based on the aura that the Black Treasured Stone emitted, he immediately knew that it was more powerful than the one that he wore.

The one he wore was actually given to him by the Old Ancestor. It was a level 5 Black Treasured Stone but it was of inferior quality since it only had a 50% speed boost.

“I know that you will definitely go to the Eastern Victory Divine Continent. I won’t stop you. This is a Level 6 Black Treasure Stone of superior quality. It can boost your speed by 100%. It’s slightly better than the one you have right now.” Tang Wude smiled and stuffed the jade pendant into Qing Shui’s hand.

Qing Shui smiled gratefully and thanked him, without rejecting the gift.

“Brother, Is Dragon Emperor Mountain very powerful?” Qing Shui asked casually with a smile.

“Not only are they very powerful, they are extremely powerful. You will be interested to know the other identities of the people there,” Tang Wude laughed.

“Huh? How special must they be for you to revere them?” Qing Shui was curious.

Some of the people from Dragon Emperor Mountain have Golden Bloodlines.”

“Golden Bloodline!”

Qing Shui had heard of Golden Bloodline and Violet Bloodlines but he never actually knew who had them. He was surprised to actually find out today the very people who possessed the Golden bloodline. The bloodlines held an almost mythical existence to him since the people with it seemed so powerful.

“Don’t overreact over such thing. Whether it is the Golden Bloodline or Violet Bloodline, there is a limited number of these people. In their families, only a few of them actually inherit such bloodlines.”

Each of these people are blessed with incredible talents and intelligence. They are valued highly as they are the future pillars of their clans.

……

As they chatted, it was time for dinner. The banquet in the Tang residence had already been prepared. Qing Shui was only close the Tang Wufu’s branch but he did not know how powerful that branch was in the Tang Clan.

But Tang Wude was the person he thought highly of. Tang Wude held the same attitude as him. They both had a lot of potential though Qing Shui was definitely more talented. They were, of course, taking a chance on such matters.

During the banquet, Qing Shui was well-received by Tang Wude’s branch since he had saved Tang Chong, more importantly he was an incredibly young master physician.

When night fell, Qing Shui entered his Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal from the room that was prepared for him.

His boring training begun!

He would head where the plum blossoms bloomed so he could calm his mind and practice his Taichi Fist. The effects were great and the plum blossoms were never damaged.

Qing Shui discovered that he still had one Mysterious Fruit Tree, two Ice Snow Sacred Fruit and some Vermillion Fruit. These fruits require a long time so it was difficult for Qing Shui to accumulate much even within his Realm of the Violet Immortal.

This time, Qing Shui called for his Thunderous Beast. His Thunderous Beast made a low growl, which sounded like rolling thunder, when it saw the Ice Snow Sacred Fruit. He decided to feed it one of the fruit.

An Ice Snow Sacred Fruit could increase a demonic beast’s power by 200 countries or advance a cultivation technique to another realm – if lucky. Moreover, the advancement wasn’t by one level but by an entire realm, which could skip several levels in one go. Realms were divided by sizes but even the smallest realm could advance a Grade Two Martial Saint to a Grade Three Martial Saint in an instant. Likewise, it was possible to advance up to Grade Five, Six or even Seven. This was why the Ice Snow Sacred Fruit was so incredible. However, only Grade Two Martial Saint up to Peak Martial Saint demonic beasts would be affected. The effects weren’t limited until the Grand Perfection Stage of Peak Martial Saint.

Very quickly, beautiful purple glowing light flashed across his Thunderous Beast with a crackling sound. Qing Shui could sense the changes within his Thunderous Beast using his spiritual sense. Since he was going to Eastern Victory Divine Continent soon, raising his Thunderous Beast’s prowess was his best option. As long as his Thunderous Beast could withstand its enemies’ attacks, its Thunderbolt was a terrifyingly powerful skill and its Violet Lightning Strike was even more so.

Who could withstand the effects of Thunderbolt which could continuously lower one’s speed, perception and reaction time? The Violet Lightning Strike was simply lethal.

Grade Nine Martial Saint!

This time round, his Thunderous Beast had immediately gone from Grade Six to Grade Nine Martial Saint. Qing Shui was fairly satisfied with the results. These two were the rewards from his Seventh Level Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal.

He looked at the remaining Ice Snow Sacred Fruit. He thought about it for a moment and decided to give it to his Thunderous Beast as he could collect another two ripe fruits in a few days.

This time round, the effects were significantly poorer. His Thunderous Beast increased by one Grade to Grade Ten Martial Saint. But Qing Shui was already satisfied. Both succeeded, besides Grade Ten was pretty good already, since he had allowed it to consume two fruits consecutively. Qing Shui was slightly aware that he might have been too anxious. A demonic beast’s strength was different from that of a human, even at Grade Ten Martial Saint, his Thunderous Beast’s strength had already slightly exceed the strength of one star.

In the end, his Thunderous Beast’s overall stats were better than his Diamond Gigantic Elephant and Firebird. Sadly, its attack was more of a support type. It did not possess an ultimate killer move like his Diamond Gigantic Elephant and his Firebird.

The strength of one star plus the gift from Thunder God— Violet Thunder Protection!

Violet Thunder Protection: The Thunderous Beast’s unique ability that activates automatically to double its strength with zero energy consumption. When the Thunderous Beast is under physical attack, it has a chance to paralyze the enemy.

With its Thunderbolt, Violet Lightning Strike and heaven-defying Lightning Recovery, his Thunderous Beast was considerable strong. Qing Shui’s aim now was for his Thunderous Beast to sync with him so that he could use his killer moves any time and eliminate his opponents in a split second.