Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 614 – Dongguo Clan, Grade Four Nature Energy

“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” Qing Shui looked at the old man, perplexed. His voice was quite loud.

Di Chen watched Qing Shui very calmly from the side, with a small smile gracing her lips.

The people around them instantly glanced over here in mild confusion. All they saw was a smiling youth and an old man who wasn’t able to wipe the sinister look off his face in time.

“Isn’t that the Third Master of the Dongguo Clan?” Someone was able to quickly determine the old man’s identity.

“That old geezer isn’t an honorable person and likes to use underhanded tactics. This young man is going to be very unlucky,” another old man pitifully said.

“This old geezer can get anything he wants in the Duanmu City, just relying on the Dongguo Clan’s name and his powerful cultivation. Why would he still want to do something as evil as this? Tell me what kind of evil deeds he hasn’t done yet? It’s not wrong for him to marry another wife at his old age, but why does he have to snatch someone else’s wife…..?” A man said soullessly.

“My brother, you just don’t get it, do you? The wife of another man is always the best!” A man with a very fair face said slyly.

“GET LOST!” The dazed man turned his head around and bellowed as if he had lost his mind.

The fair-faced man left dejectedly with his head lowered!

“Here in the Duanmu City no one dares to mess with me, the Third Master of Dongguo Clan yet. You think you can get away with messing with me? I don’t even need a reason to strangle you to death if I wish to,” Third Master Dongguo suddenly raised his voice as he looked at Qing Shui as if he was an idiot.

After hearing the old man’s words, some bystanders had some discussions among themselves but no one really made a big commotion.

“It’s just like what I’ve said, this young man is going to be really unlucky. Of all the people who could target him, he just had to be targeted by this old man. I think it must be because this old man is attracted to the woman beside the him,” a middle-aged man told the other middle-aged man with a long beard beside him.

“This old thing is bloodthirsty and perverted, especially the latter. So many women in the Duanmu City have been defiled by him. Other than a few limited clans and powerful figures, other people can only remain silent as they swallow their anger. So many people wished that this old fellow would drop dead or at least, for the lower half of his body to rot,” a middle-aged man beside him seethed with great hatred.

“The Duongguo Clan is big and powerful, us little commoners can never compare with you. With your cultivation, I’m sure you can hear the discussion going on around us. Do you, sir, feel very accomplished? Do you feel like you bring pride to the Dongguo Clan?” Qing Shui gave this old geezer a spurious smile.

“Third Master, he is a guest of the Duanmu Clan.” Right at this moment, a middle-aged man who seemed like a scholar approached Third Master Dongguo and whispered softly.

Third Master Dongguo was startled before quickly changing the expression on his face and chuckled. “When the world is vast and there are too many people, it’s hard to identify a friend accurately. The Dongguo Clan and Duanmu Clan have a good relationship. So a friend of Duanmu Clan’s is naturally a friend of the Dongguo Clan. This old man is a little blurred in his vision today. Come, let us go enjoy some tea at the ‘Fragrance Court’.”

Qing Shui watched as the big smile widened on Third Master Dongguo’s face with apparent evil intentions. On top of that, there were flames that secretly burned behind that smile in his eyes.

“There’s no need for that!” Qing Shui outright rejected his offer.

‘Fragrance Court’ was the best brothel in Duanmu City. Every single woman there was remarkably gorgeous and was very skillful in musical arts. They were proficient in singing and all sorts of musical instruments. Third Master Dongguo was a regular there.

“Well then, this old man shall invite you again another time,” Third Master Dongguo watched Qing Shui as he tried to be more humble. The smile on his face was also becoming more friendly.

This kind of person was Qing Shui’s worst nightmare. They could kill without spilling a drop of blood and were best at playing dirty. Anyone would be afraid of being stabbed in the back when they least expected it.

“Qing Shui, let’s go. This is getting ugly,” Di Chen pulled Qing Shui’s sleeve and walked away from the scene.

Third Master Dongguo was watching Di Chen as if he wanted to devour her whole very badly. As a man who had been swimming among the sea of beauties for more than two hundred years, his judgement of women was very on point. He could see how perfect Di Chen’s body was and could clearly feel her grace. She was definitely of the highest grade among all women.

………

In the Realm of Violet Jade Immortal, Qing Shui was practicing his Taichi Fists in a slow yet vigorous motion. A wave of unstable but powerful qi force was wildly fluctuating within his body.

Nature Energy!

He had persisted like this the whole day. His entire body was exuding an aura of righteousness. He felt like he was close to a breakthrough so he was practicing very patiently as he fumbled around, trying to slowly search for the slightest opportunity that could cause a breakthrough.

A faint yellow gas was released with his every strike. His punches were unsophisticated yet powerful. As time dragged on, Qing Shui who had only been thinking about breaking through, gradually immersed himself within this feeling. It was just like having sex with a woman. Being slow and gentle gave a different feeling compared to being rough and wild, even though both were equally wonderful.

Half a day passed and by now, Qing Shui had completely forgotten that he was trying to breakthrough. He didn’t even remember he was practicing his Taichi fists. All he knew was that he was searching for a type of feeling.

Thump~!

Qing Shui was startled awake. He could feel the Nature Energy within his body had automatically activated within that instant. It felt way stronger than it had been compared to before.

It was a breakthrough!

Grade Four Nature Energy!

Qing Shui slowly sensed. Breakthroughs were always unintentional. This must be what they meant by “haste does not bring success”. He continued to sense the changes in his body carefully and discovered that he had gained a forty percent increase in his physical strength.

Qing Shui was still quite happy about the breakthrough of Nature Energy. After all, it was an extraordinary cultivation art. As long as this most righteous qi between heaven and earth was great enough, it could dispel all evil in the world and also even detoxify unusual poisons. Some evil ‘techniques’ would also be rendered useless. On top of that, it also allowed Qing Shui to not be suppressed by his opponent’s might when faced with powerful cultivators.

After the ‘Nature Energy’ broke through, Qing Shui could gain an additional ten percent of strength and the intensity of Nature Energy had also become even stronger. The strength raised by good cultivation arts was enormous at later stage. An increase of ten percent strength was not a small amount to him. It was equivalent to consuming a few different medicinal pills of peak King Grade.

Diamond Crossing Rivers had already attained the Small Success Stage. Fiery Golden Eyes on the other hand, was progressing very slowly. It hadn’t even attained the Small Success Stage yet. Qing Shui however, was not worried. Nothing would come of worrying so he’d rather focus on his cultivation. Effort would undoubtedly lead to success.

………

“Lady and Miss Duanmu. We have bothered you for a long time so we should leave.” After staying for almost another month, Qing Shui bid his farewell to Yu Ruyan and Duanmu Lingshuang.

“Qing Shui, where are you all going? Do you not feel at home here?” Duanmu smiled at him.

“Oh no. It’s been a great pleasure staying here. I have had a great time here thanks to you. We are planning to go to the Seven Stars Country,” Qing Shui replied after thinking for a moment. Perhaps he could find out something about the Seven Stars Country from Lady Duanmu.

“The Seven Stars Country? Alright, I won’t stop you. I’ll tell you something about the Seven Stars Country so at least you’ll be prepared when you get there,” Lady Duanmu said with a frown.

Qing Shui who was about to stand up and take his leave could only sit down again to hear what Lady Duanmu had to say. It might be something that would be useful to him, so even if he was in a hurry he should stay.

“The Residence of Sky Tyrant Lord of the Seven Stars has already disappeared and it is the weakest among the Seven Stars. They are on extremely good terms with the Di Clan and have a strong bond, although they didn’t seem to take much action this time,” Lady Duanmu was looking at Di Chen as she spoke.

“But this doesn’t mean that nothing happened. The situation between big clans are very complex. So when you are at the Seven Stars Country, you should still be wary of the Di Clan,” Lady Duanmu slightly shifted her tone of voice and laughed.

“Alright, thank you. I will do that,” Qing Shui replied in a serious voice.

“You are welcome. I shall briefly tell you about the ‘Seven Stars’ of the Seven Stars Country. I happen to know a little about them. Sometimes you shouldn’t just listen to names on the World of the Nine Continents. Things like reputation can be harmful. There are many experts hidden among the bustling crowd. The consequence of being arrogant is meeting a bad end. Remain vigilant at all times and use all of your strength even when you are dealing with the most simple and insignificant issues. Failing when you least expect to is the worst death in this world.”

“Please enlighten me!” This time Qing Shui really felt the importance of her words. The Qing Shui from the past understood this, but he’d still get cocky sometimes and thus get himself into bad situations.

“The Medicine Sect is the biggest sect in the Seven Stars Country that is established on medicinal pills. So if you are planning to stay long in that country, you can make friends with them. It shouldn’t be too difficult with your alchemy skills. Most importantly, the Medicine Sect is quite a powerful sect and their people are also decent.” It seemed like Lady Duanmu had quite a positive opinion towards the ‘Medicine Sect’.

Qing Shui nodded his head with a smile, indicating to her that he would keep her words in mind.

“Although the Phoenix Manor is classified as the Seventh Star of the Seven Stars Country, it is a more unique existence. The Phoenix Manor is situated on the Phoenix Mountain of the Seven Stars Country and is also the most mysterious among all the Seven Stars. Most people have only heard of the Phoenix Manor. Mysterious beings exist with mysterious things. It’s always best to steer clear of them,” Lady Duanmu said with a shallow smile.

“Mother, are these people deliberately trying to be mysterious?” Duamu Lingshuang interrupted with a question.

“It’s better to believe some things than not believe. You only have one life, what are you going to do if you lose it?” Lady Duanmu joked.

“Then what about the Valley of Joy?” Qing Shui only felt awkward after he had said it. But it was too late to take his words back.

Duanmu Lingshuang seem to be throwing Qing Shui a disapproving look with her uncovered beautiful eyes while Di Chen didn’t look at anyone, she was just trying to distract herself.

Lady Duanmu also seemed to be a little uncomfortable. Her mature and gorgeous countenance was slightly tinged red and an unnatural look clouded over her eyes that were looking at him. Qing Shui could only hurriedly avert his gaze.

This woman’s charm was even greater than her daughter……

“The Valley of Joy is a sect that can be described in many ways in the Seven Stars Country. The sect is located at the Valley of Joy, and the Valley of Joy is at the ‘Night Mist City’. This is a powerful duo cultivation sect. There are males and females in the sect and they basically come and go in pairs,” Lady Duanmu didn’t go into details. She had only briefly highlighted the sect’s interests and their characteristics.

Qing Shui didn’t further inquire about it to avoid any embarrassments.

“The Ten Thousand Poisons Sect is a fearsome sect in the Seven Stars Country. The members are usually more violent and their bodies are covered with highly toxic substances. Even the demonic beasts with them are poison beasts. The other sects and aristocratic clans will usually choose to avoid them. To get involved a poison user of the same level is a worse nightmare than getting involved with a cultivator that is stronger than yourself.”

“Lady Duanmu, is the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect located in the Seven Stars City or somewhere else?” Qing Shui wasn’t afraid of poison. Perhaps he could even pay a visit to the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect. It would also be useful to his ‘Poison Scriptures’ cultivation.

“The Ten Thousand Poisons Sect is within the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest of the Fire City! Qing Shui, you may be an alchemist, but the members of the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect are usually more ruthless. You must be a little more on guard when you are interacting with them.”

“Sure, I will.”

“The last one is the Village of Longevity on the Mountain of Longevity. This village is considered one of the prestigious places in the entire Main Continent. The rich and abundant spiritual qi there can not only prolong the lifespan of the people, but also greatly enhance their cultivation. It is a truly valuable land in a favorable geographic location. There are not only a lot of rare herbs, but also a lot of rare beasts. Some treasures and divine objects will even also appear from time to time. The strength of the Village of Longevity is definitely terrifying, not even the Duanmu Clan can compare with them.

Qing Shui was well aware of that last sentence’s importance – the Duanmu Clan couldn’t compare with the Village of Longevity!