Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 1308 – Sacred Object Great Sacred Buddha Stone, Arrival of the Beitang Clan

“It’s the dynasty established by the Beitang Clan. They are the same clan as the Five Continent’s Lion King’s Ridge’s Beitang Clan,” the old monk explained.

“Does this Beitang Clan know that the Beitang Clan from the five continents has disappeared?”

“They do. They even know that Mister Qing is the one responsible for it.”

Qing Shui now understood why the old monk didn’t hesitate to tell him the things about the buddha stone when he heard Qing Shui’s name. But what exactly was this buddha stone?

“Buddha Stone? It seems to be related to buddha. What’s the point in them trying to take this?” Qing Shui was really confused. Nonetheless, he was certain that this buddha stone must be a good item or else the Great Northern Dynasty and the Silver Lion Dynasty wouldn’t have pushed the Buddha Sect.

“The buddha stone is a really mysterious thing. It has great effects. If you immerse the buddha stone in water, it can be used to cast metals or make medicines. The buddha stone also has spirituality. It’s said that using such water can help one to pry into Heavenly Dao. It can help them cultivate the Buddhism’s martial techniques. For now, the only thing I know is that drinking that water can help increase cultivation and ascend grades. Cultivating the Buddhism’s martial technique will help speed up the process. As for other things, I am not really clear about them just yet.” Grand Master Fa Ying didn’t try to hide anything when he explained.

“No wonder both the Great Northern and Silver Lion Dynasties wanted to come and steal it. It seems like this thing might just be a really great treasure.” Qing Shui felt really agitated. This kind of thing was already considered a treasure. Since he came across it, he felt that it would be a waste if he didn’t witness it. Besides that, Qing Shui also felt that the reason why these three people’s cultivations were so well-hidden and that their battle prowess exceeded their strength so much had to do with the water which had the buddha stone immersed within it.

“Mister Qing, the buddha stone comes in pairs. We will give Mister Qing one of the them. We just hope for Mister Qing to help us through this difficult situation.” Fa Ying said seriously after seeing Qing Shui’s expression. That expression looked really sincere.

“How is that fine? The buddha stones come in pairs. A noble person don’t take away people’s belongings.” Qing Shui said seriously.

“I have tried it before. Whether there are one or two of them, the effect is the same. I feel really weird that the quantity of this thing isn’t the issue. If both the Great Northern and Silver King dynasties want one, they could have exchanged it with something of equal value. I might’ve agreed to that. But they are too greedy. They intend to take it by force just because they are third grade dynasties. The limit of three days which they gave me will end tomorrow. It is god’s intention for us to meet Mister Qing. God has shown me the savior for the Buddha Sect.” Fa Ying quickly said in a firm tone.

He knew that QIng Shui was really powerful. He was afraid that Qing Shui would step back after hearing two dynasties. Hence, he was very firm. He even told Qing Shui about the issues about having just one of the stones.

Running into this problem, Qing Shui would naturally provide them help. After all, he had promised the Patriarch from Buddha Sect. Not only that, but the foes they were facing were from the Beitang Clan. This gave him all the more reason to help. Besides, he also got a buddha stone as a return gift.

Seeing that Fa Ying had spoken up to this point, Qing Shui stopped pushing. If he continued to do so, it would make him seem like he was reluctant to help. He followed Fa Ying and together, they returned to the northern courtyard.

Among the three old monks, including Fa Ying, none was actually an abbot. But even if an abbot was to run into them, they would still have to call them Martial Grand Uncles. Qing Shui settled down in the room located at the corner of the northern courtyard. Other than Fa Ying, the other two bid their farewell and left.

Even Qing Shui himself felt that it was a coincidence. He smiled and asked, “Grand Master, if i hadn’t come, were you guys still going to fight against the Silver Lion and Great Northern Dynasties?”

“Against these forceful behaviors, I would rather the buddha stone get destroyed than letting them have it.”

Qing Shui never expected for Fa Ying to have such an upright character. As he thought about it, it also sort of made sense. For a grand master from Buddha Sect to run into this kind of issue, if they had a bit of temper, they would definitely not compromise. Fa Ying himself also felt that they had a chance to win, despite being up against third grade dynasties.

“Grand master, please tell me about the Great Northern Dynasty of the Beitang Clan’s!”

“The history of Beitang Clan in the Great Northern Dynasty could be considered short, much shorter in comparison to the Great Qi Dynasty. But now, the Great Northern Dynasty was already a mid-tier third-grade dynasty and it’s rumored that their true strength is already comparable to an initial-tier fourth-grade dynasty. The population of the Beitang Clan is extremely numerous, and it’s rumored that they were able to develop so fast because they acquired some grand treasures.In a few short hundred years, the Beitang Clan destroyed the original royal clan of the Grand Yun Dynasty, changing history, and causing the Grand Yun Dynasty to become the Great Northern Dynasty, slowly evolving from a peak-tier first-grade dynasty, to the current mid-tier third-grade dynasty.”

Fa Ying tried to make the long stories short when he explained about the Beitang Clan.

“Does the Beitang Clan really enjoy doing these forceful things?” Actually, Qing Shui wanted to know more about the style of Beitang Clan. He wanted to know if they were the kind of nasty people who would seek revenge for even the smallest grievance.

“They have done quite a lot. They are very arrogant, but it seems as if they have someone behind their backs. However, they won’t do anything out of line to the people within their dynasty. On the other hand, they are really horrible to the dynasties and some of the aristocratic clans nearby them. They even went as far to organize a forced marriage.”

“A forced marriage?” Qing Shui said in shock.

“Yes, for the Third Young Master of Beitang Clan, the Third Prince of Great Northern Dynasty. He happened to come across one of the small princesses from the Great Zhao Dynasty by accident. In the end, the Great Northern Dynasty tried to exert pressure on Great Zhao Dynasty and got the young princess to marry him and be made a maid. This kind of forced marriage is a big insult to Great Zhao Dynasty, but the Great Northern Dynasty is a third grade dynasty. It is also considered normal if the Great Zhao Dynasty is the one who helped to bring out this problem. But the main thing in this is that the Great Northern Dynasty had forcefully tried to accomplish the marriage this time.”

……

Who would have thought that the habits of Beitang Clan in the five continents would be related to the Beitang Clan here as well? While talking, the voices of the two old men from before came through from outside. After that, they proceeded to come in. There was a silver colored metal-made tray in one of the old men’s hands. On top of it was a brocade cloth which was covering something. From the point the brocade cloth was bulged up, the thing below wasn’t too big or small.

“Mister Qing, this was one of the two buddha stones.” Fa Ying stood up, took away the tray and placed it on the birch table n front of Qing Shui. After that, he removed the brocade cloth on top of it.

Almost in an instant, a faint white light appeared in front of Qing Shui.

This was a white stone shaped like the Lotus Platform. It was around a foot long and wide. There was an obscure spiritual energy fluctuation on top of it. Qing Shui immediately looked towards it with his Heavenly Vision Technique, as he had a feeling that this thing might be a treasure.

Sacred Object, Great Sacred Buddha Stone!

Qing Shui was already stunned from merely seeing these few words. This was a sacred object. Both Qing Shui’s Arhat Rosary Beads and Nine Continent Mountains were also sacred objects. The Holy Bracelet which Mu Qing and Huoyun Liu-Li had in their hands, was also a sacred object. Even the lowest grade of sacred object was already incomparably valuable. It’s enough for any warrior to crush the scalps of others to possess it.

Grade: No grade. Can be refined with pure energy. The amount of times it can withstand refinement everyday is limited.

……

Effect: infinitesimal. It can be immersed in water. The longer it is in water, the more powerful the spiritual energy contained within the water. Furthermore, the energy will not disperse. At each grade, it can only affect a certain amount of water. Water which has been affected by Great Sacred Buddha Stone can be used in all ways: to drink, to water plants or to use to breed other animals.

It cannot recognize an owner!

It can be upgraded!

It was a magic weapon which could be upgraded. Qing Shui was so shocked to the point he had no words. The function of Heavenly Vision Technique was truly a very effective one, helping identify many valuable items. Fa Ying on the other hand, didn’t know how to properly use such thing, or else, it’s likely that he would be a lot more powerful than he was now.

While talking, Qing Shui only found out that the buddha stone had been there for a long time. This was something which he had happened to come across by chance within the treasure room of Buddha Sect.

“Are you really giving me this thing?” Qing Shui smiled and said as he took it up.

“Of course, the Buddha Sect is also hoping to make friends. Since mister shares quite a decent relationship with the Patriarch from Buddha Sect in the five continents, that will also mean that you share a destiny with us. We monks take the word destiny really seriously.” Fa Ying explained slowly. He sounded really gentle, leaving a good impression on Qing Shui.

“Alright then, I will politely take it.” Qing Shui retrieved the Great Sacred Buddha Stone. They didn’t tell him what kind of sacred object it was. Qing Shui planned to let Little Fatty explain more to him about it once he was here.

After talking for a little bit longer, Fa Ying let Qing Shui take a break. Judging from normal situations, it’s likely that the Beitang Clan and the Silver Lion Dynasty would come down to retrieve the Great Buddha Sacred Stone tomorrow.

Seeing that it was still early, Qing Shui conveniently took out the Great Sacred Buddha Stone and started refining it. After refining it about ten times, he could no longer continue to refine it. Now, it could only withstand ten refinements each day at its first grade.

For magic weapons which recognized owners, only its owner could refine it. As for magic weapons which didn’t identify an owner like these, everyone could refine it. However, the amount of times it could withstand refinement was quite limited. Hence, one couldn’t try to quickly increase the grade of the magic weapons through increasing the number of people.

Of course, there was also a kind which was an exception. It’s when refining magic weapons required an enormous amount of spiritual energy and that the amount couldn’t be fulfilled with just one person. Then, it would be better to have more people. Qing Shui was aware that some of the large magic weapons in certain sects normally required people to refine in groups.

He slowly inserted his Divine Force into the Great Sacred Buddha Stone. As that happened, the white light around it grew even brighter. Similarly, the spiritual energy fluctuation on top of it also got a lot stronger. The Great Sacred Buddha Stone was just like a bottomless pit as it slowly absorbed Qing Shui’s Divine Force.

Normally, refining would require one to converge the spiritual energy, vital energy, and Divine Force within a person’s body. But Qing Shui was really powerful, and could store many more times of energy within his body compared to people at the same level of strength. Hence, he didn’t worry too much about it. Besides, he also had medicinal pills which could help him quickly recover his body’s strength. He also had the self-recovery ability and Yin-yang Image within his body. He was just equivalent to a machine which never knew how being tired felt.

The pond within the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal had evolved into something which seemed like a small lake. It’d be futile even if he put the Great Sacred Buddha Stone within it. Hence, he purposely made a small well which was around a meter deep. It was located next to the Spring of Life, about three meters away from here. After that. He inserted the Great Sacred Buddha Stone in it.

It could be seen that the water within the small well was giving out traces of hardly noticeable small bubbles. This was from the water absorbing the spiritual energy from the Great Sacred Buddha Stone. The spiritual energy from the Great Sacred Buddha Stone was no ordinary spiritual energy. Even though Qing Shui did his refinement with his own spiritual energy and divine force, once they reached the Great Sacred Buddha Stone, they would be turned into mysterious spiritual energy.

On the second day, Qing Shui woke up really early, but he didn’t do his morning practice. After eating the food given by Buddha Sect, he started chatting with Fa Ying and the others. The atmosphere around them was a bit heavy.

Qing Shui asked some questions regarding the royal clan of the Great Qi Dynasty Maybe the Great Qi Dynasty still needed to depend on the buddha sect, hence, the buddha sect was the one who made most of the decisions.

At early morning, he could see a lot of gathered up black dots far off in the distance. They’re still far away from him, but Qing Shui could determine the strength of the demonic beasts through their speed and their body size. Basically, he could already confirm that they were Beitang Clan and Silver Lion Dynasty.

There were more than a hundred people on the Buddha Sect’s side but other than Fa Ying and the two others, there were also five more who had the same level of strength. One among them was even older than Fa Ying, and the strength of Fa Ying and his companions wasn’t weak, already closing on that of a grade three dynasty. Even for fourth-grade dynasty, there weren’t many who can surpass them.

This also reminded of what the woman from Putuo Mountain and Headmaster Sui had said. There were some things which couldn’t be decided on merely by looking at their strength from the surface. Unusual warriors who lived in seclusion often had a lot of methods to kill enemies tens of times stronger than themselves.