Ancient Strengthening Technique (Web Novel)

AST 1368 – Yehuang Guwu Broke Through To False God, Five Elements Spring of Life

From the beginning until the end, the members of the Chi Clan never came forward. They were there but ultimately never made any move after they had witnessed the fate of the Yehuang Clan. Most people would have chosen betrayal at this point or perhaps not even to that extent.

Qing Shui was reminded of a proverb from his past life when he saw this sight. Most men stayed loyal because their bargaining chips of betrayal were low. When the stakes of betrayal have accumulated to an adequate amount, no one would turn a blind eye to betrayal. This bargaining chip could come in the form of money, beautiful women, their own lives, intimidation and other extreme measures.

Just like Chi Clan, compared to the survival of their family, nothing else mattered. If they could not survive, negotiations would be useless, which was why they preferred to be poked at their backs with fingers, rather than being killed.

Yehuang Clan was finished. The entire clan was considered deceased even though their name would still remain in the hearts of many. Yehuang Country was now in a state without a leader. However, no one would daringly declare themselves as the one to control Yehuang Country at the present time.

Among Yehuang Guwu, Qing Shui, Puyang Clan, Dugu Clan, Shui Clan and Chi Clan, it went without saying that Puyang Clan would be the likeliest choice. Regardless of whether the other clans would stand by with the Puyang Clan and Qing Shui, they were all well aware of Puyang Clan’s power. If Puyang Clan decided not to do anything, they would do the same as well.

Qing Shui immediately mounted on the Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant with Yehuang Guwu and flew towards the Imperial Cuisine Hall, leaving the mess behind.

“Who do you all think will become the next pillar of the Yehuang Country?”

“Isn’t this obvious? If those young ones want to become the pillars, Puyang Clan and Dugu Clan will definitely support them. If they don’t want any of that, then it is most likely Puyang Clan. They seem to be laying low but what kind of family isn’t ambitious at all?”

“There is certainly an ambitious aspect of that but Puyang Clan might not be interested in Yehuang Country or maybe they view Yehuang Country as something too important to handle.”

Why?”

“Didn’t you realize that many things had happened after Puyang Clan came in contact with this Miraculous Physician Qing? Puyang Qing who was close to his end suddenly achieved a breakthrough to become a False God Cultivator. The Old Ancestor of the Puyang Clan also broke through to Second Level False God. Her lifespan was nearing the end too.”

“If you say it like that, then it’s really…..”

“That’s why I’m saying that Miraculous Physician Qing is more important than the Yehuang Country for the Puyang Clan. As long as they maintain good relationship with the Miraculous Physician Qing, it will always be better than controlling the entire Yehuang Country. They can even enter that circle in the Continent’s Capital or perhaps travel to the Haohan Continent.”

…….

“Qing Shui, am I vicious?” Yehuang Guwu should be able to cast off the burdens in her heart but it seemed like she still couldn’t let go completely.

“How are you vicious? Your wish has come true, why aren’t you happy about it? I will ask Elder Brother and sister-in-law to make some food as a celebration for you,” Qing Shui said with a smile.

When Yehuang Guwu saw Qing Shui forcing a smile at her, she said, “I thought I would feel jubilant once I’ve done all of that but instead I feel like I have lost something. Qing Shui, can you tell me what have I lost exactly?”

Qing Shui was shocked. He understood Yehuang Guwu’s feelings immediately and replied with a gentle smile, “It’s difficult for one person to bear such a heavy burden. But with time, that person will get used to it, it’s like an object attached onto body. If one day, that heavy object is taken away, that person will become lighter, so light that he or she might float. That person might not be used to that either. You have been so used to carrying this burden. At times you will feel that you are just living for hatred. But when that hatred is gone, your heart will feel empty too.”

Qing Shui knew the main reason for her last realization had something to do with him, otherwise he could have killed more people and he would feel happy about it, as that would feel much like revenge.

On their way back, Yehuang Guwu and Qing Shui took a detour specifically to the place where her parents and her clan members were buried. It was the first time that Qing Shui saw this woman with tears streaming down her face…..

Qing Shui knew Yehuang Guwu would require time to recover as she was mentally unstable for the time being. She would need a bit more time to absorb what had just happened.

In the past, Qing Shui didn’t divulge to Soulsearch and the others specific details of the situation, so he reckoned that they should have heard about it by now. However, he didn’t have to worry about that anymore.

When they arrived at the Imperial Cuisine Hall, the others were already waiting inside.

When he saw Soulsearch, Li Ji and Yuan Su, he could see serious concerns dwelling in their eyes. Yuan Su hastened her footsteps and approached to greet them. She held onto Yehuang Guwu’s hands and looked at Qing Shui, “Are you guys alright?”

Qing Shui could sense her concern and it felt real. After all, if he had been in an accident, she would become unable to protect herself. So whatever the case was, her concern was truly genuine.

Qing Shui had never been one to oppose purposiveness or intentions. Everyone has had similar thoughts to this before, just like a job that required a salary in his past life. Such things were considered normal. His friends were considered people of the same mind who had flocked together as a group. Because they were able to communicate with each other quite smoothly, they had proven to be quite useful. In other words, they were all like-minded with a common goal.

If Yuan Su were to know about Qing Shui’s thoughts, she might become depressed. Maybe she really had her own purpose now, like how to progress her relationship with this man to the next level….

Yehuang Guwu felt happier when she saw Yuan Su, Soulsearch and Qing Shui. When she realized she still had Ruyan, Tantai Xuan and other people from the Putuo Mountain, she felt better. She wasn’t alone and there were still many others who truly cared about her.

Qing Shui held onto her hand her quite tightly to let her know that he would face her problems with her any time, just like today. If Qing Shui wasn’t there, she still wouldn’t be able to do what she had done.

Yehuang Guwu squeezed Qing Shui’s hand tightly. With a man like this, what more could she ask for? Her gaze became gentle when she looked into Qing Shui’s eyes.

Qing Shui cooked a lot of food. Even though he was the one cooking, the others came and joined him. The kitchen was definitely large enough and it was quite spacious too.

The five of them then quickly sat around the table, with Qing Shui sitting next to Yehuang Guwu, Yuan Su on the other side next to Yehuang Guwu and Li Ji next to Yuan Su. Soulsearch’s kid was sleeping inside the room with someone looking after him.

“Sister Wu has finally settled her lifelong important matters today, so it is worth being joyous for the day,” Qing Shui explained to the others.

“I understand. Sister Wu doesn’t have to shoulder such a great burden from now on.” Yuan Su smiled.

“You will only know how important friends are to you during such circumstances. I will cherish them for the rest of my life,” Yehuang Guwu said softly.

“Live for yourself from now on. Allow yourself to become happier.”

“Live for myself, then what about you? You are getting older now, did you ever live for yourself for one day?” said Yehuang Guwu softly as she looked at Qing Shui.

Qing Shui was shocked. He had confided with Yehuang Guwu about his personal affairs before and he had already told her whatever he could. Qing Shui then shook his head lightly and said, “Maybe there are people like that who will live their entire lives for other things and never have their happiness disrupted because he or she will just be happy. Just like you, your father and mother will finally rest in peace.”

“I hope that you can settle your matters as soon as possible too.”

“I will and it will happen soon.” Qing Shui replied with a smile. Despite that, there was a sigh in his heart. His own matter didn’t seem like an easy task to settle. He was already 40 years old and if he were still in his past life, he would already be considered a middle-aged man. But in this realm, he still had quite a lot of time in his life.

…….

Time flew by so fast and before they knew it, three months had passed. Qing Shui cultivated painstakingly every day to strengthen his body. The Grand Perfection Stage of the Nine Yang Golden Body had finally received full consolidation.

He was still lingering in between the False God and gate of the Eighth Heavenly Layer. He didn’t manage to break through to False God but someone else did.

Yehuang Guwu!

Having the burden in her heart discarded, it was as if her soul had been released. With the help from Qing Shui, she managed to break through to False God within three months of rigorous cultivation and thus obtained the power of 1.5 million sun.

She finally reached the breakthrough at the power of 500,000 sun.

Qing Shui had never expected that she would reach the realm of False God before him. Even though her Tiger Form did not reach a breakthrough after she had become a False God cultivator and it would be too difficult to reach a breakthrough at the Violet Golden level, her power was still as terrifying as ever.

White Tigers of four to five million sun and there were six of them too……

The power of Grade Two False God…..

Yehuang Guwu received six ‘demonic beasts’ of Grade Two False God through the Tiger Form immediately, which made her more happy than ever. Within these few days, she went to the Puyang Clan multiple times. After having consulted with Puyang Clan’s granny, she realized that she had to build up her foundation properly after breaking through the False God realm, otherwise she would have a hard time clearing through the False God divine tribulation. Grade One False God was the weakest, yet the most important level of them all.

Qing Shui would help nurture her constitution during those few days to build up her foundation!

“Qing Shui, I have a recipe that can help build up a good foundation. However, there are a few ingredients that are very rare in this recipe,” Yuan Su said after she had pondered for a few moments before handing over an alchemy recipe to Qing Shui.

Qing Shui took a look at the recipe and smiled. The reason he did so was because he had those rare ingredients she mentioned in his possession, which were the Spring of Life, Crystal Physique and two types of Five Elements Fruits.

After reading through the recipe, he understood what the ingredients were for. The Five Elements Fruits would correspond to the five internal organs, which were precisely five elements in a nutshell. The Spring of Life could evoke the dynamics and vitality of life and also to strengthen the cells inside one’s body……

Qing Shui was quite surprised after reading the recipe. This woman’s logic was too incredible. She was able to merge the medical properties of these medicinal ingredients with the best of her abilities but of course, Qing Shui would still be the one to carry out the practicality of the refinement. However, Yuan Su was the one who had given him the procedures to do so.

When he said he would do it, he meant his words. Because this type of medicated bath was precious, cultivators of any level would be suitable for it. There would be exceptions for this type of medicated bath, however. In any case, this alchemy recipe required the medicinal herbs to be refined into powder form before dissolving them into the water in a specific ratio accordingly.

Qing Shui preferred to take action immediately, so he went straight into the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. This alchemy recipe had no name but Yuan Su had already assigned one to it – “Five Elements Spring of Life”. Qing Shui didn’t care about the name, so he was happy to have the name settled beforehand.

This time, he had wasted several Golden Snake Grasses, like usual. Of course, the Spring of Life and Five Elements Fruits would be wasted too. After all, if the refining failed, all of those items used would vanish.

The Five Elements Fruits were still enough. He had harvested quite an amount during these few years. They were useless for most days, so he didn’t expect that they would be extremely useful until now.

Yuan Su had mentioned before that the Five Elements Spring of Life could be used once after a certain period of time and that would have to depend on the absorption power of the body. Generally, if the absorption was continuous, the user would become full in less than a few days. They could still absorb more in the future but not as good as the first time. If the Five Elements Spring of Life was used continuously, it would be better to have a longer break after every use.

Ding!

After struggling for about a month, he had more or less succeeded in refining this medicine. Qing Shui looked at the bottom of the Golden Flint Iron Cauldron that had about a cup of pale green powder. It had a strange subtle smell in it and that could rouse an impulsive addiction.

The efficiency stated in Yuan Su’s recipe was incomplete. Because of that, Qing Shui decided to inspect the medicine closer.

Heavenly Vision Technique!