Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 852 – Leveled Up Nine Continents Steps, Arriving At Eastern Victory Divine Continent

Qing Shui put his focus on the Nine Continent Boots. He felt that this time around, his Nine Continent Boots was very different from how it used to be but he could not find the words to describe it. However, very quickly, he used the Heavenly Vision Technique on the Nine Continent Boots.

The Nine Continent Boots, increases speed to become twice as fast, reducing energy expenditure greatly. Those below Martial Emperor level are unable to inflict any damage on it and it comes with the battle technique, Nine Continent Steps.

Nine Continent Steps: Use the Nine Continent Boots to activate the Nine Continents Steps. The user will immediately travel 200,000 li in a straight line. It could also allow one to control the target location up to 100,000 li away with their mind. It was currently at level two and had gone through some slight leveling up and could be used twice a day.

Prerequisite: Martial Saint level!

“Mmm, the Nine Continents Steps has levelled up, it’s now at level two!” Qing Shui could not help but exclaimed happily. In the past, after seeing the description of the Nine Continent Boots which said that the Nine Continents Steps could level up but had not after so long, Qing Shui no longer placed much hope in it. However, to think that it had leveled up now. And the distance was increased to be twice as long as before. Qing Shui was elated, especially now that he could use it twice a day and he could control the distance as well. Otherwise, he would always end up exceeding where he was intending to go and it would be very depressing…

Being able to use the Nine Continents Steps twice would mean that he would be able to travel further than what the Fire Bird could travel at its greatest speed. Most importantly, Qing Shui was now given another lifeline. It took only a moment to activate the Nine Continents Steps. As long as he was not suddenly locked down with the spirit energy of powerful experts, he would be fine.

The Nine Continents Steps at the second level allowed him to travel 200,000 li away twice. Then at level three, level four… Who knew how many levels the Nine Continent Boots could advance to? Qing Shui didn’t know if it would reach level nine, ten or even fifteen but regardless, it was already considered extremely powerful. In the future, if he were to travel 100,000 or 200,000 li away, he would only need to think of it and move slightly. After having leveled up, the Nine Continent Boots were much more powerful than before.

When good things came, they came one after another. When unfortunate things came, no one would be able to fend them off. Sometimes, good events could turn into unfortunate events and the contrary was true as well. Opportunities usually came accompanied by danger.

Nine Continents Steps!

Qing Shui once again used the Nine Continents Steps. This was the second time he was using it in the same day. The feeling of being able to do so was exhilarating. Considering the previous use, he was now 400,000 li away.

400,000 li… This would be the equivalent of circling five times around the Earth in his previous life (the equator is about 80,000 li). Now, in the world of the nine continents, it would only be a short percentage of the distance between each continent. This went to show how big the world of the nine continents was.

He would not longer need to feel scared of having anyone on his tail. Although he had not seen the legendary Moonlight Treasure Box and Shrinking Ruler but even something as powerful as the Nine Continent Boots would probably be considered a low level divine artifact.

Maybe, if the Nine Continent Boots were to level up and could be used over ten times daily, he might really be able to travel between continents with them. Just the thought of that alone made Qing Shui very agitated. The vast world of the nine continents, with countless dangers. There were not many people who could really travel the world of the nine continents freely. However, the time it would take for one to do so was really discouraging.

Even after he had used the Nine Continents Steps, he was not yet in the deep areas of this barren land. Therefore, Qing Shui flew at his maximum speed and the Fire Bird’s high pitch shrill scared off the demonic beast groups in the area.

…

After half a month, he entered the deeper region of the barren land. In mid-air, Qing Shui looked down on the forests. The forests here were all extremely towering ancient woods and were very densely packed. From the air, he could only see the top of the trees and some slight gaps between tree leaves.

A resounding cry rang out from the distance. Qing Shui lifted his head to take a look but did not hide. This was the fifteenth time he had come across a group of demonic beasts. He was already numb to them.

Taking out the Soulshake Bell!

Qing Shui felt that there was no need for him to hide the moment he came across that. He felt that there was a need for him to train himself and to collect items. The demonic beasts drew close. This was a flock of about 100 Twin-Headed Eagles. They were each about 30 meters in size and were around Grade Eight Martial Saints.

If it was in the past, Qing Shui would immediately land and seek shelter or hide in his Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. However, right now, he did not try to hide. Riding on the Fire Bird, he dashed over at full speed. This was also the strongest group of demonic beasts Qing Shui had encountered after entering the place.

The abilities of the Twin-Headed Eagles were not high enough to deal any damage to Qing Shui. There were not many of them, which was why he chose to fight them head-on!

The attacks of the Twin-Headed Eagles had a hint of poison in them, primarily on their beaks and claws. When used against opponents of the same level, the poison’s effects were quite good.

Soulshake Bell!

With such a large number of them, Qing Shui did not go easy on them. He quickly shook the Soulshake Bell, stopping only after the spiritual energy in the Soulshake Bell was all used up.

Three of them died, over twenty of them escaped and over ten of them attacked each other. Qing Shui took out the Violet Gold Divine Shield and the Big Dipper Sword, charging in.

Shield attack!

Sword of Sixth Wave!

Qing Shui was like a tiger descending from the mountain, defeating this group of demonic beasts which were about a hundred in number. After all, the difference in their abilities was quite high and he did not face much pressure when dealing with them.

When one was at his level, others would not be able to defeat him with numbers alone. He went to collect some of the hide, Cores and others parts of the Twin-Headed Eagles. They were still high level Martial Saint beasts and these were precious resources.

He went on his way but did not encounter anyone on the way. He might have missed them when he used the Nine Continents Steps or other people had travelled on the ground. Usually, the time merchants required to travel from Central Continent to Eastern Victory Divine Continent was hard to estimate. Those who were able to travel from Central Continent to Eastern Victory Divine Continent on land, would usually be using “Silver Gale Beast” to pull their carriages.

The Silver Gale Beasts were Martial King level demonic beasts of slightly over ten meters in length. Their speed was very fast and they were also very strong. Compared to ordinary Gale Beasts, their level of endurance were also very high. Therefore, when merchants travelled the journey by land, they would all choose Silver Gale Beasts. Some martial arts cultivators may also choose to travel the journey with powerful land type demonic beasts.

Many powerful experts either had no flying demonic beasts or had only low leveled ones which were not powerful enough. Therefore, they could only travel on land. Martial Saints could only fly for a short amount of time, such as when fighting. They were not able to keep up with the energy expenditure of travelling while flying. Moreover, they could not match up with the speed and endurance of demonic beasts.

When he was free, he would look down to see if there were mercenary groups. It wasn’t because he wanted to travel with them. This was what humans were like, just like how Qing Shui wanted to meet other humans. However, this did not mean that he must travel with them.

The time in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal and the time in the actual world together meant that one day was the equivalent to 101 days for Qing Shui. Therefore it was very normal for Qing Shui to be like this.

When Qing Shui saw the faint appearance of mountains, he smiled. The spiritual energy here was already quite strong and the farther east he travelled, the stronger it was. He knew that he was arriving at the Eastern Victory Divine Continent. This mountain should be a natural barrier near the city which would keep some demonic beasts away.

Another reason which made Qing Shui feel that he had arrived at the Eastern Victory Divine Continent was because of the demonic beasts he had come across. At the very start, he had come across powerful demonic beasts which he had to run away from but the level of the demonic beasts were increasingly weaker toward to the end of the journey. Those which he had came across a short while ago were mostly just wild beasts. Qing Shui knew that close to cities, there were generally very few powerful demonic beasts.

The first city in Eastern Victory Divine Continent was one which was at the border. Therefore, Qing Shui decided to stay here for half a day or slightly longer. However, it would definitely not exceed three days.

Crossing the steep mountains, what came to his eyes was a quiet village. There were not many people here and there were a few stone huts scattered around the place. Over ten kids were chasing each other and playing and there were groups of people busily bending their backs to tend to the terraced fields.

Qing Shui stood at the top of the mountain, looking off into the distance. He could see very far away and his vision could even reach the midpoint of the mountains. On the slopes at the back of the mountain, more than ten men walked over. They were either carrying or lifting some wild beasts’ corpses, chatting happily as they headed to the village.

Qing Shui slowly descended from the mountains. The place reminded him of Qing Village, where the people would depend on what was nearby in nature for food. Other than the fact that this place was a little secluded, there was nothing bad about it.

The people here mainly ate meat. They were simple and straightforward people but they all appeared to be very valiant with great muscular physiques. Even though they didn’t pick up any cultivation, they were all equipped with brute strength.

When Qing Shui came, he had used the Nine Continents Steps for the last time to keep away from the main road and thus passed by this place. If he had followed the widest path, which many people took, he would definitely be led into a city.

…

With the appearance of a young stranger, many people came out to take a look, their gazes on guard. Some of them were even carrying weapons.

“I got lost from a mercenary group and came by this place unknowingly. I mean no harm.” Although his words sounded useless, he felt that there was still a need for him to say them, at least to indicate his intent. As for whether they would believe him, it was something beyond his control.

“The village head is here!”

Just then, someone shouted out and everyone made way. An old man wearing plain clothes with a bent back walked over. The old man looked very weak and old, as if he was in his final years.

“Mister, I hope that you’re not offended. We’re but people who have not seen the world before. If you don’t mind, you can come to this old man’s place and we’ll see if there’s anything we can help you with,” The old man smiled and said to Qing Shui.

“Sir, what are you talking about? The fault is on me for being so abrupt,” Qing Shui quickly smiled and said.

The old man sent the crowd off and headed for a stone house at the midpoint of the mountain. The meandering mountain path was long but not steep. Although the old man appeared to look very old and weak, his steps were very stable.

“Sir, what place is this?” Qing Shui smiled and asked as he walked.

“This is a small village near Bole Country’s Tigerfang City, called the Jade Mountain Village. Legends have it that very long ago, the mountains here were all made of jade,” the old man smiled and said.

As expected of one who had lived for so many years, the moment Qing Shui asked, he knew the answer Qing Shui wanted. Therefore, his reply was very detailed.

“Sir, have you always been in this Jade Mountain Village?” Looking at the great scenery, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to even call this a paradise.

“I’ve gone out when I was young but the furthest I went was only to Tigerfang City. However, it’s hard for a person without abilities to survive outside. The brute strength I was so proud off was too weak in comparison to the cultivators and thus I returned to this place. There’s mountains, fish and to be honest, it’s quite good,” the old man said, full of emotion.

Earlier, Qing Shui had seen that there were at least ten villages in the area but they were just slightly far apart from each other.

“It’s really good, with beautiful mountains and rivers. One only needs to be able to bear with the loneliness.” Qing Village stared at the surroundings. It was unlike Qing Village. Although Qing Village was also a village, it had a population of several tens of thousands. Moreover, there were many towns in the area and they would not feel lonely at all. However, this place was really too quiet.