Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 509 - Stone of Life, back to Heavenly Palace!

“I owe you a pair of earrings! This is all I have now!”

Qing Shui opened up his broken and shivering palm which was covered in blood. The thing in his palm was precisely the delicate Silver Moon Wolf Earring. It’s just that it was fully stained with blood.

Tears started dripping down from the eyes of the Misty Hall’s Palace Mistress. The tears wet her veils. She wasn’t someone who would be moved so easily, but right now, the only thing she felt was sadness and sorrow.

She used to have a happy family. She had parents that loved her, a background which people admired. But amidst this, a tragedy happened. Her mother died early. Her dad, disappeared.

Luckily, her body possessed really good talent. On top of that, she also unintentionally discovered an Underground Shine later on and got a lot of benefits from it. It was one of the reasons why she managed to improve at such an incredible pace.

Considering that the Di Clan had a huge family and business, they didn’t really care much about this daughter that left. In addition, the place she left for was the Residence of the Sky Tyrant Lord. This way, the relationship between the Di Clan and the Residence of the Sky Tyrant Lord could be considered to be firmly established.

The two clans had always been long time friends. They left her at the Residence of the Sky Tyrant Lord so that their relationship with each other would be even closer. This way, they would be able to look after each other and continue to develop further.

The Sky Tyrant Lord and his men looked at the Misty Hall Palace Mistress. After that, they looked at Di Qing before eventually glancing towards the two old men.

“Foster father still hopes that you will return to the Residence of the Sky Tyrant Lord. This is the wish of both the Di Clan as well as the Residence of the Sky Tyrant Lord.” The Sky Tyrant Lord gently told the Misty Hall Palace Mistress.

Her only response was silence.

“Uncle Tian, let her calm down first. Don’t worry, I am here.” Di Qing comforted the Sky Tyrant Lord.

The Sky Tyrant Lord shook his head. A powerful aura flashed across his eyes. After he nodded his head at Di Qing, he told the eight people behind him: “We will leave now!”

There was a hint of suppressed anger in his voice.

From the time he appeared until the time he left, it had only been less than six hours. In the end, there were only a few people left at the site!

“Sister!” Di Qing called out to Di Chen gently.

“I am already like this, what does the Di Clan want? I already have nothing to do with Di Clan. The Di Clan doesn’t really need me anyway. Stop annoying me in the future.” Di Chen said without even lifting up her head.

Old man Tan gave a hint to the zealous old man beside him. After that, the old man that was the closest to Qing Shui suddenly drew out his sword and flung himself at Qing Shui.

The whole incident was so sudden that no one was able to react in time.

But right at this moment, Di Qing who was nearby took action as soon as she saw the old man make his move. She immediately struck her sword at the old man’s long sword. Even though she successfully drove away the old man, but a trace of fresh blood still flowed out from the corner of her mouth.

Di Chen glanced towards the old man who attempted a sneak attack with her sharp eyes. Just when she was about to make her move, Qing Shui said softly: “Forget it, don’t do anything about it.”

“We should go too.” The zealous old man stated to his comrade.

“Miss Di Qing, I suppose you will no longer return to Sword Tower. But I still hope that you will convince your sister to not get involved in the things between the Sword Tower and the Heavenly Palace.” The zealous old man said while smiling.

No matter what, their goal today was accomplished. Their secret worry, Qing Shui, could be considered ridded. This way, as long as the two women did not get involved in the Sword Tower and the Heavenly Palace’s affairs, it would be hard to decide which sect would emerge victorious. They were once again standing on the same starting line.

Di Qing didn’t say anything. The zealous old man led old man Tan and left in a hurry with their injured comrade.

The Misty Hall Palace Mistress held the earrings that Qing Shui gave her as she stood beside Qing Shui.

Both of Qing Shui’s leg were in a decent condition. Unfortunately, all of his meridians were destroyed, his dantian had also been emptied. The only thing left behind was his Emperor’s Qi.

Qing Shui was unaware of the blood and sweat that was flowing down his body. For now, he was completely unable to feel the pain on his body. He felt aggrieved, he had a lot of things that he was unable to let go of. The suppression in his heart was many times more painful than the pain he felt physically.

If it hadn’t been for the effects of the Five Dragon Pellet, Qing Shui would most likely have died already.

Unknowingly, tears started to stream down his face. He looked into the direction of the Hundred Miles City. Qing Shui’s state of mind was very unstable at the moment, he had hoped so badly that he would be able to go back there once more. He was worried about the Qing Family, worried about his mother, Qing Qing…...

“This time, I am not going to be able to escape from death. Could you do me a favor? I will be worried if other people were to do it.” Qing Shui said softly to Di Chen who was next to him.

“You will be fine……”

“Deliver this to the Qing Clan. Pass it to an old man called Lin Zhanhan. Don’t tell them about what happened to me……” Qing Shui said as he passed his last remaining Great Revitalizing Pellet to the Misty Hall’s Palace Mistress.

This Great Revitalizing Pill could enable Lin Zhanhan to recover his power back to the pinnacle of the Martial King stage. In the Hundred Miles City, and even in the Canglang Country, a Martial King was an unrivalled existence. This way, the Qing Clan might still have a bit of strength to survive.

No matter what, whether Lin Zhanhan decided to stay behind or to leave, all of this was of little importance. In any case, letting him recover his power would only benefit Qing Clan.

As he stared into the distance, Qing Shui unknowingly reminisced about a lot of the things that happened in the past. No wonder people tend to enjoy recalling memories when they were old. People would only turn around to look back when they were no longer capable of doing anything. The only thing left for them were memories.

The two exceptionally beautiful women looked at Qing Shui from behind. They felt incomparably sad. For someone his age, they were originally supposed to be high-spirited. No matter which influential clan he ended up in, he would be in popular demand. But at the moment, he was just like an old man past his prime. He looked very lonely.

Furthermore, the dispirited aura from his body made people’s hearts feel heavy.

Qing Shui, you won’t die!” Di Chen walked to Qing Shui’s side and said gently.

He turned around and looked at the woman who had helped him on numerous occasions. She was a magnificent and unique woman. Qing Shui didn’t know how he could make a woman like her shed tears for him. He had no idea why.

“Thank you, but I no longer have any chances to do anything for you. I know about my own situation!” Even though Qing Shui still had many regrets, he still chose to face the reality in front of him.

Slowly, Qing Shui began to calm down. It felt really weird, as a warmth sensation flooded his body, the painful feelings from before also began to fade away.

Could this be when a person reached a point of enlightenment?

Qing Shui smiled bitterly. Unfortunately, it’s no longer of any use. If he still had his cultivation, Qing Shui felt that he would definitely be able to make his power take a huge leap forwards once more. But now, he could only minimize his sufferings to make sure he could go to the afterlife peacefully.

When a senior monk died in a seated posture, this should be how they felt as well.

“You really don’t have to die!”

The Misty Hall’s Palace Mistress took out a pendant. As soon as she took it out, Qing Shui could already feel the terrifying spiritual fluctuation from it. There was a stone on top of the pendant. It was the size of a red date.

“Stone of Life!”

Qing Shui could recognize this object with a glance. This object had the same effect as the Flower of Life. It could increase one’s lifespan. However, one had to be consumed whereas the other one had to be worn. It’s just that there was a huge gap between the ability of the Flower of Life compared to that of the Stone of Life. Hence, their value also differed by a lot.

The uses of “Stone of Life” was very unique. It could increase one’s lifespan!

It could increase one’s lifespan by three years!

By wearing the ‘Stone of Life’, one could increase their lifespan by three years. So long as they were still breathing, they would be able to hold on for three years, even if they were just an empty shell without any power. So long as you wore it while you were still breathing, it would still enable you to survive up to three years like a walking corpse.

During the time when Qing Shui was distracted, the Misty Hall’s Palace Mistress already put on the Stone of Life around Qing Shui’s neck. This Stone of Life was precisely the object that she discovered while she was in the Underground Shrine.

“Unfortunately, it could only extend one’s lifespan by three years. Furthermore, in the future, he can only live the rest of his life like a normal person unless he manages to find those legendary treasures within three years. But after all, those things only belonged to the legends.” The Misty Hall’s Palace Mistress helped Qing Shui wear the Stone of Life while thinking about his life in the future.

But three years were better than nothing. When the Misty Hall’s Palace Mistress saw Qing Shui’s expression that looked reluctant to leave, she felt that these three years might just be enough for him to realize some of his wishes.

“Lets go back. I will definitely help you find a way to recover.” The Misty Hall’s Palace Mistress said gently as she put the Stone of Life onto Qing Shui’s chest.

“I owe you too much, I don’t know what I can do to return these favors.” Qing Shui looked at the extreme beauty that was almost within his reach and said while feeling both happy and agonized.

“I hope you can continue to live on well!”

At this moment, Di Qing walked to the front of Qing Shui. Similarly, her body was also stained with blood. After Qing Shui saw her, he tried his best to take out a bottle of Jinchuang Powder and passed it to her.

Di Qing accepted it. After she took it, with her back facing Qing Shui, she poured down a bit of Jinchuang Powder onto her body.

“Sister!”

This was already the third time Di Qing called Di Chen, Sister!

Di Chen glanced at Di Qing: “What exactly do you want?”

Di Chen’s tone was unkind. Qing Shui could tell that the two sisters were on bad terms. Whoever gave birth to this pair of sisters, Qing Shui felt that it must have been the result of the karma which they accumulated for generations.

But on the contrary, it was karma from doing evil rather than good!

“If I too refused to go back to the Di Clan, would you have treated me differently?” Di Qing turned around. She looked at Di Chen with a smile and said.

Di Chen didn’t say anything.

“You hate Di Clan! You hate father!” Di Qing softly carried on with what she said. The expression on her face looked calm and tranquil.

“There is no such thing as familial love in an aristocratic clan. The benefits to the clan are above everything else. Everything only centres around the development of the clan. Just like big brother, he has always liked the mistress from the Xigong Clan. But in the end, he still married the mistress from Su Clan. Sister, the more bright one looked from the outside, the more old-fashioned they would be inside. When a person looked like they are the happiest person amongst the crowds, they are most-likely the person who was suffering the most.

Di Qing’s words didn’t surprise Qing Shui. This woman has always been constantly in touch with the outside world. She was different from the Misty Hall’s Palace Mistress. It seemed like behind everyone’s back, there was often a story that no one was aware of. It wasn’t totally unexpected that these things would happen.

“Sister, can we siblings not be like this? I know you are very lonely, actually, I am lonely too.” Di Qing gently pulled Di Chen’s sleeve.

Misty Hall’s Palace Mistress didn’t shake off Di Qing’s hand. She was actually feeling quite confused. On top of that, there was also Qing Shui’s current condition for her to worry about. She smiled bitterly as she summoned the Blue Luan.

“Let’s go back!”

“This is for you. I believe that you will be going back really soon.” Di Chen passed the Great Revitalizing Pill to Qing Shui.

Qing Shui didn’t reject it. For now,he had no choice, as he wasi no longer able to refine it. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have mattered even if he were to give her one. But right now, Qing Shui felt that it would be more useful if he let Lin Zhanhan ingest it.

Other than his legs, the bone across Qing Shui’s entire body had basically been broken into tiny pieces. He slowly took off the battle armor and put on a thin cloth.

Everytime he moved, he would feel tremendous pain rack across his whole body.

For now, only the Yin-yang Image in his sea of consciousness was still slowly revolving, giving out bits of golden light. Unfortunately, it lacked the qi of Ancient Strengthening Technique, making it almost useless. But it still gave Qing Shui a tiny ray of hope.

This mysterious Yin-Yang Image gave Qing Shui the feeling that it had some kind of mysterious and unknown power.

“Don’t move! I am going to help you wrap your wounds!” Di Chen was holding some bandages when she talked to Qing Shui.

Eventually, Qing Shui, in an extremely unnatural way, got his upper clothes taken off. The two women slowly helped him wrap his wounds with bandages. They started by getting his bones fixed first. Unfortunately, Qing Shui at the moment, didn’t have the mood to experience this tremendous gentleness.

It had just been a while and Qing Shui was already wrapped up like a rice dumpling. Both of his arms had also been set rigidly in place.

“Why are you so good to me?” When Qing Shui asked this question, he felt a sense of déjà vu. After thinking, he realised this was the very phrase that people would often ask him in the past.

Qing Shui wanted to know the answer to this question really badly.

“I don’t know, I just feel that you are really important to me……”

This was the Misty Hall’s Palace Mistress’ answer.

……

They endured the hardships of travelling and rushed towards the Heavenly Palace. After two months, the bandages around Qing Shui had long been taken down. Even though it was said that when one hurt their muscles or bones, it would only take them a hundred days to recover, but Qing Shui’s injuries were much more serious than that. Luckily his recovery speed was still at a pretty good rate. If he still had his cultivation, he believed that with his recovery ability, one day would have been enough for him to recover completely.

The Blue Luan flew directly into the Heavenly Palace.

A lot of people saw Qing Shui. But from their unusual gazes, Qing Shui could already tell that they had all found out about what happened.

But Qing Shui mocked and laughed at himself: “Sister Chen, it’s fine, put me down!”

This was the first time Qing Shui voluntarily called someone sister.

When Di Chen heard him calling her sister, she was also stunned. But after that, she gave out a wry smile as she made the Blue Luan descend.

“Everyone look, Qing Shui, isn’t he supposed to be dead?”

“I heard rumors that said the meridians in his body were destructed. Even I can feel that all of his power had been crippled. He no longer feels as mysterious as he was in the past.” A middle-aged man said loudly.

“When one is at the pinnacle, there are bound to be haters. He really is too outstanding.”

“His life later on will likely be really difficult. A lot of people are not going to let him off easily.”

……

This was how the world worked, it was the hypocrisy of humanity. It was the same wherever you go. These irrelevant people would not affect Qing Shui even in the slightest. Let alone that Qing Shui wasn’t even paying attention to them at the moment.

The news about Qing Shui coming back spread like wildfire. Furthermore, the news about him coming back as a useless person got spread widely around the Heavenly Palace. Not only the Heavenly Palace, even the Sword Tower, the Demon Beast Sect, the Alchemist Sect as well as the Hai Clan also known found out about it.

“Haha, to think he would end up like this too……” inside a courtyard, Tan Yang from the Tan Clan of the Sword Tower laughed loudly. He laughed to the point that he lost his mind, so much so that he started crying tears. For someone who didn’t know what was going on, they might see him as an eccentric person.

“Grandpa, thank you! Today is the happiest day of my life. So what if I’m unable to recover, I want to see his face when he gets insulted by a lot of people.” Tan Yang said happily while looking at the old man Tan.

Old man Tan also let out a sigh of relief. Qing Shui being handicapped could be considered to have removed one of the biggest worries in his heart. Or else, it’s very likely that the Sword Tower would be finished. The Tan Clan would also end up like Feng Clan.

“Yang Er, grandpa will definitely make you recover. I have already found a way to do it, it’s just that I still need a bit of time.”

……

The Demon Beast Sect!

“Haha, this is great, just great! Green Cloud Continent has once again gone back to how it used to be.” Said the Grand Elder while looking at the elegant and harmonious old man.

“Actually, I am more excited to see how the brat would skyrocket through the continent.” The elegant and harmonious old man chuckled as he looked at the Grand Elder.

“Mister Tai, actually, I also wanted to witness it. It’s just that I don’t want to risk it. The conflicts between him and Demon Beast Sect have gone to the extreme. I can only say that it’s a shame.”