Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1374 – The Great Power of the Heart of Seven Orifices, Heading for the Dancing Phoenix Continent’s Capital

Qing Shui carried Qing Yu and the other children also ran over to him.

Carrying Qing Yu in one hand and holding Qing Yan’s hand in another, Qing Shui headed for the living hall. They hadn’t walked for long when the family came out. For quite a long period of time now, the people in Qing Clan would try not to travel too far away since Qing Shui was able to come back once a month.

Even Qing Clan’s businesses were also handled by others. They now had enough money to get by. Moreover, if they were to come across good things, the items might not be measurable in terms of money. There were things which were impossible to buy no matter how much money was offered.

Power determined everything. And as Qing Shui continued to progress forward outside, power was the one which had guided Qing Shui on his path. With Qing Shui around, the members of Qing Clan could reach new heights which they would not dare to imagine in the past.

“Yin`er, I’ll be giving you a present this time around. I’m sure that you’ll like it.” Qing Shui said happily. Qing Yin had been a quiet child since young and would seldom fight with others.

Her character remained the same even as she grew older. However, those who were close to her could all sense that she was in fact very competitive.

“Oh? What present? Father, you can’t be biased. I want it too,” Qing Yu smiled and said.

“Alright, you’ll get one too. It’ll be good if you’ll like it as well,” Qing Shui smiled and said as he took out a smaller five-string zither.

Qing Yin was very happy when she saw that it was a zither. Qing Yan was also very happy. However, Qing Yu and the other children didn’t find it to be a nice surprise and merely smiled bitterly.

In the past Qing Yin liked music but Qing Shui only knew of a few pieces. By now, Qing Yin had already learned all of them and the light melodies she played were as if they had souls of their own. Some of the melodies she played sounded dignified, some dreary, some lonely…

“Father is the best!” Qing Yin received it happily and went on tiptoes to plant a kiss on Qing Shui’s face.

This small action made Qing Shui felt touched. Qing Yu would often do something like this but such acts were rare from Qing Yin, especially in the past few years. However, he now knew that this daughter of this was still very reliant on him and it was just that this feeling didn’t show.

Qing Shui reached out his hand to pat her on the head before he brought out the score for the Phoenix Cry Sonic Attack. “Take a look at this melody. This is a very unique melody. Your mother and aunties will all be learning this as well.”

Qing Shui then took out an identical copy for Qing Yan. Qing Yan was very happy as well. This time around, Qing Shui was the one to give her a light kiss. This lass was an introvert and thankfully, as time passed, she had now grown to be closer to him.

“Father, can I not want it?” After saying that, Qing Yu pursed her lips together and shook her head. Her exquisite little face appeared to be very helpless.

“Learning this will also allow you to beat up the bad guys. Do you want to learn?” Qing Shui smiled and said. He found the lass’ expression to be very funny.

He had no plans of forcing her to learn this. If they showed no interest, he wouldn’t force them. He knew one could only learn something well if it was something they were interested in. Therefore, he had always let the kids learn whatever they were interested in. For example, Qing Yin, like her name [1], showed a great interest in music. Therefore, Qing Shui let her learn music directly.

Thankfully, she had also shown an interest in the Nine Palace Steps and in the Taichi Fist. She had elder and younger brothers, so even if Qing Shui wasn’t around in the future, no one would be able to bully her. Therefore, even if Qing Yin wasn’t interested in cultivation, Qing Shui would let her be.

Of course, this was only for areas that would be beneficial. Qing Shui was still not approving of spoiling his children. Pampering children itself was a skill. Every parent would pamper their own children. Who else would if they didn’t? However, everyone had their own means of pampering their kids. With pampering, some kids could grow to be good but some would just turn out to be spoiled.

Canghai Mingyue and Huoyun Liu-Li had both received a five-string zither each of which was the same size as the ones which Yehuang Guwu and Yuan Su were using. They also received the cultivation method for the Phoenix Cry Sonic Attack. The means of cultivating was to produce the killing melodies using the Phoenix Cry Sonic Attack.

Qing Shui also handed the ladies the Hundred Birds Worshiping The Phoenix. There was great surprise in their eyes when they received it but their interest wasn’t that high. Canghai Mingyue and Di Qing both seemed to be interested but they also got to know that the chances of them succeeding in learning this technique would be less than 1%.

Qing Shui no longer made any requests of them and decided to let them decide for themselves. However, he soon got a surprise.

Luan Luan!

Luan Luan, who had the Heart of Seven Orifices, seemed to have reached the Divine Connection Realm in her grasp of music. After practicing a few times, she seemed to already be able to produce the Phoenix Cries, stunning everyone.

The melodies seemed to be exactly the same but made one feel that it was irresistible. They would move together with the melody and even Qing Shui had the feeling that it would be possible to use music to control and kill people.

Of course, that might be possible. However, the prerequisite was that the person playing the melody had to be powerful enough. If the opponent was strong, he would be able to get out of the situation very easily. For example, through sealing up his sight and hearing and to only be using his spiritual sense.

This was unless the practitioner had cultivated music to a stage in which the melody would be able to penetrate through everything and wouldn’t require the target to sense it through their ears but was able to send the melody straight into the target’s mind.

Luan Luan had been practicing in a slighter further location and so were the others. However, everyone came to a stop and quietly watched as Luan Luan played.

They could almost see the rate at which Luan Luan was improving very clearly. Luan Luan seemed as if she had entered an amazing realm. To think that the great power of the Heart of Seven Orifices was also so terrifying in terms of music. It was an extraordinary talent.

Earlier, Qing Shui hadn’t expected that Luan Luan would display an abrupt performance in learning the Phoenix Cry Sonic Attack. After all, she was already a powerful Beast Tamer and the other time, she had completed the final stage of strengthening her foundations through using of the Five Elements Spring of Life. In the future, she would also be growing much stronger at a rapid rate.

There were still not many people in the Qing Clan who could use the Greencloud Up-step Pellets, Origin Returning Pills and the Yang Pills. Their physiques and talents had gone through a tremendous change. If they could use the Greencloud Up-step Pellets, a portion of them would probably be able to reach the State Master level. Of course, in the short term, most people would be unable to reach the state where they could meet the conditions to be able to take the Yang Pills and the Origin Returning Pills.

Qing Shui didn’t feel depressed. In the future, there would be more alchemy recipes and medicinal pills. All these things might create new possibilities.

For a small clan to become a great clan, it would require several generations or even tens of generations worth of hard work. Qing Clan was only on its fourth generation. Powerful clans all had their legacies and it was only with their legacies that the clan would be able to remain prosperous and not wither and depreciate. As long as they had legacies, throwing out a few of them during times in which they were facing the threat of being wiped out would give them a new chance to live on. This was the power of legacies and this was how powerful clans with legacies were.

Qing Clan didn’t have any legacies and until now, it still remained the case. Although Wenren Wu-shuang’s and Di Qing’s children had slightly better aptitude than the older children, they still didn’t show any obvious signs of having inherited any legacies.

Right now, Qing Shui had already reached the False God level and his Nine Yang Golden Body had surpassed the Grand Perfection Stage. However, Qing Shui felt that it wouldn’t be possible for the Nine Yang Golden Body to become a legacy which could be passed down.

The Nine Animals Mimicry Technique, Tiger Form, Roc Form, Phoenix Form…

He wondered if there would be any legacies appearing from these battle techniques?

After staying for a few days, Qing Shui left. Right now, Qing Clan was already on track and he would definitely get a huge surprise in the future. Anyway, he could still come back every month and thus only stayed for a few days. In the future, he would stay for two days. Staying for over ten days was a bit too long. He still had things he had to do.

When Qing Shui returned to the Dancing Phoenix Continent, Yehuang Guwu was already prepared. However, they still stayed at the Imperial Cuisine Hall for one more day and Qing Shui gave more instructions before he left with Yehuang Guwu and Yuan Su, heading toward the continent’s capital.

This time around, when using the Nine Continents Steps, Qing Shui didn’t take their hands. Yuan Su looked curiously at Qing Shui. When she saw Qing Shui’s awkward smile, she smiled as well. However, in her heart, she was feeling very happy…

Tianhe City!

Qing Shui did remember that he still had to call upon Tianhe Renmo to join them. Tianhe Renmo didn’t have much to prepare.

“Do you want to stay at my place for a day?” Tianhe Renmo asked politely.

“Elder Brother, that’s fine. There’s no outsiders here. Let’s head off earlier so that we can reach the continent’s capital earlier,” Qing Shui smiled and said.

“That’s fine too!” Tianhe Renmo didn’t insist. He bade goodbye to the other members of the Tianhe Clan and they went on their way.

After consecutive uses of the Nine Continents Steps, Qing Shui called out the Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant. Right now, the space on the Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant was still quite big. The two ladies sat at the back, chatting amongst themselves, while Qing Shui and Tianhe Renmo sat in the front.

“Brother, why are you headed for the continent’s capital?” Tianhe Renmo asked casually. With their close relationship, this was still a question which he could ask.

“I’ll first set up an Imperial Cuisine Hall at the continent’s capital and then take a look around before I do something else. Elder Brother, what about you?” Qing Shui smiled and asked.

“I… I’m going to look for my Master. He asked me to go look for him after I’ve attained the False God realm. He can help to bring me up a level higher.” When Tianhe Renmo spoke, there was a craving for power in his tone.

“Elder Brother, although your foundation isn’t bad, if you wish to improve further, it would be extremely dangerous.” Qing Shui spoke the truth. A person would have to experience a False God Tribulatin with each increased grade after attaining False God.

The False God Tribulations. Each tribulation would cause one to be faced with the dangers of life and death.

“I can’t be bothered with so much. It has been several decades. I had originally thought that there was no more hope but I hadn’t expected to encounter Brother. Since I’ve gotten better, I’ll need to get back everything others owe me,” Tianhe Renmo frowned and said.

“How’s Yelang Clan?” Qing Shui asked softly.

“They are a powerful clan in the continent’s capital and are even more powerful than the Tianhe Clan. However, Yelang Clan would also have to pay a huge price if they were to wish to wipe out the Tianhe Clan. Therefore, no matter how big I blow the matter up, it wouldn’t escalate into a large-scale battle.”

“Then what will Elder Brother do after reaching the continent’s capital?” Qing Shui looked at Tianhe Renmo and asked.

“Fight. I want to pay him back for what he did to me back then with interest.” Tianhe Renmo said firmly.

“You’ve already waited for several decades. Why can’t you wait a little longer?” Qing Shui looked at Tianhe Renmo and said.

“After reaching the False God realm, it’s much too hard for me to wish to level up. With each increment in grade, one would have to take a huge risk and face a life-threatening danger. It seems that from the Grade Three False God onward, it would be a close shave from death. I’m worried that I might not have the chance to do what I wish to do,” Tianhe Renmo sighed and said.

“Is your Master able to bring you up to Grade Two False God?” Qing Shui asked curiously.

“Peak Grade One False God. No one can escape the False God Tribulations,” Tianhe Renmo shook his head and said.

Hearing this, Qing Shui was even more astonished. It was because he had no idea what level he was at now. He should be considered to be Peak Grade Two False God. However, he hadn’t experienced any False God Tribulations.

He had reached the eighth heavenly layer. Could it that he didn’t have to go through the False God Tribulations?

Wasn’t it such that when one’s power come into contact with a certain level of heavenly and earthly Origin Qi, the person would experience a tribulation?

Why did he not experience the False God Tribulation?

[1] The ‘yin’ in Qing Yin’s name is the character that stands for music or sound.