Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1063 – Qing Shui’s Miscalculation, Facing the Earth Jiao

“Little Fatty, can this Bodhi Tree bear Bodhi Fruits?”

“I am not sure, although it seems possible. What I remember is that the Bodhi Tree can bear fruits at any time. However, with that said, not many have seen it happen before.” Little Fatty raised his head before saying.

“Oh, it seems that there is not much hope then. Forget about it. After all, these things are rare anyway. Being able to get this Bodhi Tree is already something to rejoice about. As long as we are able to obtain the Bodhi Tree, there will be hope of getting Bodhi Fruits in the future.” Qing Shui laughed. He had not yet gotten the Bodhi Tree, but he was already daydreaming about it bearing some Bodhi Fruits.

“Brother Qing Shui, do you really want to transplant this Bodhi Tree? As long as it moves, it will wither very quickly. Even if you transplant it somewhere nearby, it will still die.” Little Fatty asked with surprise.

“I know, but it is of no use to us being here and I have a treasure that may be able to help it live, so we can try. Even if it fails, the Earth Jiao should still be restricted. The stronger these types of demonic beasts are, the more they do no good to humans.” Qing Shui found a justification that appeared righteous, because the demonic beasts were the biggest disaster in the World of the Nine Continents. Therefore, this reason was actually acceptable.

……

The next day, Qing Shui told everyone not to wander about and to remain in the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation. This was the best location on the hilltop and he even reinforced the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation until he was satisfied with it.

The Earth Jiao had come back again last night before drilling into the ground. This made Qing Shui and everyone else tremble with fear. The aura of this demonic beast was just too strong. There was absolutely no way of directly fighting it.

Just as the sky brightened, Qing Shui woke everyone up. He was hesitant if he should attempt to take the plant in the morning or in the night. However, as he thought about being able to use Nine Continents Steps four times and travelling 1,600,000 li extremely quickly, his heart felt at ease.

Using his spiritual sense, he felt the surroundings for any sort of aura. Next, he took out his best black Formation Flag, and hesitated slightly before striking.

“Chi!” The Formation Flag was stuck in the ground. There were no movements. He then took out another Formation Flag and struck out……

Qing Shui was very careful until the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation had been set. Of course it still required the Spirit Gathering Formation to function.

Although he was not in the formation because it had yet to be formed, Qing Shui could place the Spirit Gathering Formation right in the middle of the other formation from a distance.

Qing Shui’s heart stirred with both excitement and challenge as he held onto the final Formation Flag in his hands. He turned behind to look at those behind him, “Remember what I have said!”

“You must be careful!” Yu Ruyan said softly while the other women looked at him with worry.

“I know, I reassure all of you that nothing will happen to me. Remember that, regardless of what happens, you all should not come out of the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation.” Qing Shui had already thrown himself towards the formation as soon as he finished speaking. In that formation was the Bodhi Tree.

Qing Shui threw out his hand in mid air, causing the final Formation Flag to strike out.

It was because he felt the familiar sense of strong fluctuations that he knew the Earth Jiao had appeared. Hence he used the formation to resist the Jiao and hoped that he could use the time to transplant the Bodhi Tree and bring the people away to flee. He did not want to even think of battling it.

At the moment the final Formation Flag was inserted in the ground, the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation formed. Qing Shui landed in the formation and used the Nine Palace Steps to appear instantly at the Bodhi Tree.

As he circulated his strength to its peak, he held the Big Dipper Sword in his hands and wasted no time. His speed was almost at its peak and once he saw the Bodhi Tree, he rushed over.

The Big Dipper Sword was used like a steel drill to dig quickly.

Roar roar……

A dragon-like roar sounded out loud, clear, and a little angry. This made Qing Shui speed up his movements. The Bodhi Tree was not overly large, but its roots seemed particularly well-developed. Fortunately, the hole that was dug up previously in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal for it was big enough.

The roar became even more clear and angry. Qing Shui was getting more and more nervous. He began to dig even more quickly and carefully, afraid he would break the roots.

Just as Qing Shui finished digging up the Bodhi Tree, he felt the entire Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation shake. He squeezed into the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal without hesitation and felt depressed.

This had occurred because he had mistakenly placed the centre of the formation near the Bodhi Tree. He didn’t think that the Bodhi Tree would absorb half the Spiritual Qi of the formation away. Now that the Bodhi Tree had been moved, it had caused the entire formation to become paralyzed and fall apart in a flash……

Roar!

As soon as Qing Shui entered the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, the Earth Jiao let out a loud growl and appeared on the ground. Its angry eyes were as big as water jars, looking at the empty spot where the Bodhi Tree had been.

Roar!

Thrashing its huge tail around, the rock fragments nearby swirled up and filled the sky. At this moment, Qing Shui had already planted the Bodhi Tree in the realm and stared at the outside anxiously. Although he had confidence in the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation, he could only spend a limited time in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal.

The Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation had failed because of his miscalculation and been ruined. If not for that, he could have trapped the Jiao for a short while, and escape with the few ladies and Little Fatty. Now, he could only wait for a chance.

Roar!

Bang bang……

The Jiao’s gigantic body hit the surroundings incessantly, very quickly turning the land into ruins. It was also unconsciously getting closer to the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation where the ladies were standing.

Bang bang bang!

Very soon, the peak where the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation had been hidden collapsed. Many little formation flags were exposed in the air.

Qing Shui was startled and gripped the Big Dipper Sword even more tightly. How unlucky could he be that the Earth Jiao was facing the secret door to the formation? Since he was not in the formation, he could not change it. If the Earth Jiao was to get to the secret door, it could open the main door of the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation and appear at its center. If that happened, the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation would have difficulties stopping this strong demonic beast.

In this moment, Qing Shui’s mood was in a mess. He could only dash out quickly, as the tail of the Earth Jiao had already swept over it.

Emperor’s Qi!

Bang!

Roar!

At the same time, Qing Shui threw out two Coldsteel Beads that had been tempered with poison. He targeted the huge blood red eyeballs of the Earth Jiao, and followed up with the Nine Palace Steps!

Nine Palace Steps, Great Reversal!

Roar!

Once it discovered the presence of a human, the Earth Jiao was extremely furious and issued a heaven-shaking roar. A destructive shadow flew out and travelled through space, rushing at Qing Shui.

It was in this rush that Qing Shui felt the huge pressure of power from the Earth Jiao. Fortunately his mental strength was very strong and he would be completely affected by the scary presence of the Earth Jiao. Such pressure would only affect him by about 30%.

The Nine Palace Steps was miraculous. All of a sudden it seemed as though the universe had turned upside down. The two Coldsteel Beads had missed, but Qing Shui had already expected that to happen.

Roar!

When the huge Earth Jiao realised that Qing Shui was on its other side, it turned around. This movement that it did was shocking to Qing Shui’s eyes. Dragon Form, Soaring Dragon……