Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 909 – The Mu Clan’s Old Ancestor at his late days, conversation

Huoyun Liu-Li and Canghai Mingyue were playing with the kids while talking in the front yard and most of their topics were centered around Qing Shui.

Maybe because the two women had given birth or maybe also because they were aging, the two now appeared to look even more graceful than before. They exuded a kind of noble and pure aura similar to that of Mingyue Gelou’s. This should have something to do with them being mothers.

After all, the two were already older than Qing Shui in terms of age to begin with. Now, Qing Shui was already someone who was more than thirty years old. Luckily, because the World of the Nine Continents was abundant with spiritual energy, people around thirty to forty years of age were considered to be young, especially in the case of warriors. When they truly became an adult at the age of sixteen, it was the stage in their lives when they would experience the fastest improvement in their cultivation, very few people would actually get married.

Some people chose to abstain due to fear of losing their vital essence, in other words, they chose to suppress their sexual desire. From Qing Shui’s perspective however, it was only necessary to have control over your sexual desire. Completely suppressing it wouldn’t benefit people with ordinary needs in any way.

The world was divided into Yin and Yang, so were humans. It was a law of nature that Yin and Yang would combine with each other. Hence, Qing Shui wouldn’t do something like that. To Qing Shui, he would prefer doing things by going with the flow and keeping a calm mind. When conditions were right, success would follow naturally, this was the right mindset for a cultivator to have.

Far away in the Eastern Victory Continent, Qing Shui was unaware that he just got himself yet another daughter.

“We haven’t heard anything from Sister Chen since the last time she was gone.” After talking for a moment, Huoyun Liu-Li and Canghai Mingyue switched the topic to Di Chen.

“That’s right. If Qing Shui was home, both Jiange and Luan Luan would most likely have left as well. They have said before that they wanted to leave. It’s just that with Qing Shui not around, they were a bit concerned about what would happen to the family if they left,” Canghai Mingyue responded after hesitating a while.

“Sister Jiange seemed to be hiding a lot of secrets. I wonder if Qing Shui was aware of any of them,” Huoyun Liu-Li casually asked Canghai Mingyue.

“Alright, let’s stop talking about these unpleasant things. Even if she leaves, she is still one of us. Hehe, one thing that’s for sure is that she’s Qing Shui’s woman.” What Canghai Mingyue said previously was really profound. Huoyun Liu-Li puzzled over what she had said.

“Auntie!”

A slender and elegant woman with a high ponytail hairstyle shouted happily approaching Canghai Mingyue and Huoyun Liu-Li. Her footsteps were like flashing flames. Each movement performed by her feet was very relaxed and pleasant to look at. It was an indescribable feeling.

She was a lovely young woman with a joyful expression on her exquisite face. While shouting, she walked to the side of the two women. She extended her hands and twisted the little one’s cheek.

“Luan Luan, don’t you have anything to do today?” Canghai Mingyue smiled looking at Luan Luan.

This lady, who was now all grown up, was none other than Luan Luan. Her facial appearance had very little resemblance to Yiye Jiange’s. Though very vaguely, the two shared a little similarity in terms of their charm. Overall, the auras that the two exuded were totally different.

Yiye Jiange was like a bottomless pond of water, whereas Luan Luan resembled more of a splashing river, with the former being outstandingly extraordinary and the latter being cheerful.

“I just finished two months of seclusion training but daddy doesn’t seem to be back yet.” Luan Luan pouted while teasing the little one. She seemed to be really unsatisfied with the fact that Qing Shui wasn’t back home.

“Your daddy couldn’t have been tempted by the witch, could he? If not, why hasn’t he updated us with any news for so long?” Huoyun Liu-Li said smiling.

“Auntie, I feel that even witches will have to step down gracefully when they’re in front of you. Daddy would definitely not be willing to part with you.” Luan Luan revealed a sly smile.

“You damned rude brat, you actually tried to tease me,” Huoyun Liu-Li blushed and responded.

Canghai Mingyue sat by the side. She didn’t say anything, but only expressed a graceful and attractive smile.

After a while, Yuchang also joined in. The young lady who was slightly younger than Luan Luan now also looked graceful and subdued. She was like a lotus that had just blossomed. Different from Luan Luan and Yiye Jiange, her facial appearance had some resemblance to that of Mingyue Gelou. But when it came down to her talent, she could only be considered above average, almost the same as Qing You’s and Qing Bei’s.

Both Yu Chang and Luan Luan had grown up. Those who were aware of their origins didn’t speak a word about it in front of them. Simultaneously, no one truly knew if they themselves were aware that they weren’t blood-related to Qing Shui. Nonetheless, this was not of any importance. From the way things were now, it didn’t really matter whether they were blood-related or not.

Perhaps, Yu Chang might still have very vague memories of the past. In the past, she was once taken away along with Mingyue Gelou. She should have a few memories of the things that happened back then despite not being able to fully recall it.

As for Luan Luan, those who knew about her origin had the feeling that she should be aware of the fact that she wasn’t blood-related to Qing Shui. After all, she had been wandering around the world alone. In addition to that, she knew she was sent out by her daddy.

Nevertheless, she still insisted that Qing Shui was her daddy. Yiye Jiange didn’t understand the reason for it, as her brother looked totally different from Qing Shui.

Unless the real parents of the children were still alive and they managed to find them, no one would bring up these topics, this included Yiye Jiange and Mingyue Gelou. They didn’t want to burden their children, nor did they want to shatter the love the children shared with their dad.

Mingyue Gelou in particular, whatever she had now was all bestowed by heaven. It was the very own man of hers. Back then when she was carrying her dying child and had nowhere to go, the person she ran into was Qing Shui. It was this fateful meeting that gave her a turning point in life and gave her everything she had up to this day.

It was especially after she gave Qing Shui his own son that she was considered to have truly blended into Qing Clan. Everything was connected by that son of hers. Deep inside her, she was considered one of the most traditional woman.

Yu Chang was dressed really gracefully. Compared to Luan Luan, she was a bit less wild. In terms of cultivation, hers was also quite far behind Luan Luan’s. At present, she was working really hard to cultivate except she wasn’t really fond of pursuing cultivation in martial arts. Luan Luan on the other hand, was a bit more ambitious. Or rather, she had a strong desire to ascend in the cultivation of martial arts. This might have had a huge part to do with the fact that she possessed the Heart of Seven Orifices.

Wenren Wushuang secluded herself for cultivation. She had already been doing so for four months. As for the others, they still followed the usual routine. Their strength was also increasing constantly. In comparison, the Qing Clan was growing at quite a fast rate.

Because of Qing Shui, the Qing Clan was finally loaded up with everything. The only thing was that they would still need a bit more time.

They still needed time to train!

The second and third generation of the Qing Clan, as well as Luan Luan and Yu Chang, who were the only adults of the fourth generation, would form teams to go and hunt for Demonic Beasts as a form of training to strengthen themselves.

However, Canghai Mingyue and Mingyue Gelou would secretly follow them and only provide aid when it was absolutely necessary. As long as their lives weren’t put in danger, they would never show up. Even if they were heavily injured, the girls wouldn’t give them any help. If not, they would end up building up a habit of thinking that there would be external help in risky situations.

……

Qing Shui walked out of the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. He took a peek at the still dark night sky. It was only midnight. Since he was done resting, he walked out of his room. Today might have been considered an unpleasant day.

“What’s meant to happen will happen. I should quickly solve the problems here and leave. I have been out here for quite a long time, it’s time for me to go back and have a look at how things are going. Furthermore, it’s going to be new year soon.” Qing Shui let out a sigh standing in the middle of the yard.

Qing Shui randomly ran around the seal at the corner of Mu Clan. He wanted to check if the seal was alright and if there were any parts that needed improvement. In the battle against the Sky Prison Sect, both sides would focus mostly on the seals.

Unknowingly, the sky was already slowly turning bright. Qing Shui simply looked for an open space and started practicing his Taichi Fist. He did everything very naturally. On top of that, he was able to get himself focused right away.

The sun was up. It sprinkled millions of golden light beams upon the land. Qing Shui’s body resembled that of a golden body under the sun. Qing Shui who had both his eyes closed at the moment seemed to be at peace. It felt as if he had cut off every presence from the mortal world, at the same time, it also felt like a type of peace he gained after going through numerous dangers.

Suddenly, Qing Shui opened up both his eyes and abruptly turned around. At a spot a hundred meters away from him, a doddering old man was staring at him. He looked really calm. At first sight, he gave people the impression that he was an elderly man past his prime. If not mistaken, it shouldn’t be long until he permanently left the world, as he gave people the impression that he was really, really old.

“There is actually someone so strong in the Mu Clan?” Qing Shui was surprised because he realized that he was actually unable to see through this old man. He felt that the old man was as strong as the Long-armed Vicious Monkey King.

The only unfortunate thing was that the old man seemed to have reached the end of his natural life span. Bluntly speaking, he might leave the world at any moment. As Qing Shui thought deeper into it, he felt that he should be a member of Mu Clan.

“Young man, good, good!”

An old voice came through. That was a kind of indescribable feeling. It sounded really wise and on top of that, the things that the old man said could clearly let people feel his loneliness. Unfortunately, Qing Shui wasn’t aware that he was the first man who was able to get the old man to say good twice.

“Senior, you are?” Qing Shui asked politely. The old man had been living far too long. His eyes seemed like he was able to see through everything. On top of that, he was also an incomparably powerful warrior.

“Haha, even I myself am no longer aware of who I really am. But the people from Mu Clan often call me the Old Ancestor, while the people outside usually address me as the old demon.” The old man seemed to be unusually happy.

Upon getting a response, Qing Shui was still in shock. To think that there would be such a powerful man guarding a clan like the Mu Clan. This person was actually a person at the level of being an Old Ancestor. It seemed like clans that had reached this kind of level would often have their own tricks up their sleeves. Only in extremely urgent situations would they show themselves.

“Old man, you must be joking, with you around, there’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s because of you that the Mu Clan is this firm.” Qing Shui smiled and tried to flatter the old man. Everything would break, except for compliments.

“Haha, young man, stop boasting about it. I have lived a long life and seen many things. The Mu Clan is struggling between life and death. It’s already considered to be half dead. From the perspective of the ordinary people, they might seem to be really impressive but deep down, they’re also struggling and are only barely able to defend themselves. Hell, even that could be an exaggeration. In what way are they firm? But when one joins into this circle, coming out on top within it is as hard as ascending to the heavens. Nor would they not feel resigned to withdraw from it. Besides, there will also be people who wouldn’t let you go even if you wished to leave.” The old man shook his head. He sounded a bit helpless while he was saying it.

Qing Shui was well aware of what the old man meant. Once the Mu Clan fell, people would just treat it as a stepping stone for their own benefits.

“Here, young man, can you spend some of your time sitting with me?” The old man pointed forward and asked calmly.

“That’s exactly what I’m hoping for,” Qing Shui smiled and said politely.

The old man was pointing at a bronze colored pavilion. Only now did Qing Shui realize that he had unintentionally walked all the way to the furthest backyard in the Mu Clan. Everything here seemed really old-fashioned.

To think that there would actually be an old man staying here. Qing Shui remembered back when the Fifth Elder from Sky Prison Sect advanced their way here, the old man didn’t even show himself. It might have been that he found it unnecessary for him to show up for small matters like that.

“Young man, this time, the Mu Clan is going to walk on the edge of the blades. Are you going to be up there as well?” The old man asked casually. There was not even the slightest change of tone in his gentle voice.

As Qing Shui heard the old man’s words, he slightly straightened up his back, only then he responded seriously, “Of course I will walk on that, in fact, I’ll be the one to take the lead.”

“Haha, actually, you don’t really have to do that.” The old man shook his head and smiled.

“Why is that so?” Qing Shui was confused.