Ancient Strengthening Technique (Web Novel)
chapter-1042

AST 1042 – Heaven Shaking Drum, Seal of Xuantian Second Part of Scroll Fragment, The Ninth Portrait of Beauty

Qing Shui didn’t plan to exterminate them yet. Tai Kangyan was dead as he insulted Canghai Mingyue and nobody could save him. Ding Haiyang was beaten until he was half dead previously.

He nodded. “You don’t have to die. But I have a condition.”

“Please say it! I will listen to you.” Ding Haiyang was pleasantly surprised. He felt as if he had been reborn once more.

“I don’t want to hear any negative news about you ever again! You can give it a try if you can do things cleanly.” Qing Shui said as he smiled.

“Rest assured! I will not dare to do it anymore even if you gave me 100 guts!” Ding Haiyang hurriedly said. The existence of life was the foundation of enjoyment. If one’s life was lost, everything else would mean nothing.

The old man was also nervous as he watched at the side. They knew that the stronger a person was, the more worthless a human’s life was to them. Today’s incident was sufficient for the other party to exterminate the entire Tai Clan and Ding Clan. For the other party to hold back, it must be due to all the good deeds that the ancestors of these two clans had done.

“You can go retrieve whatever calligraphy or painting you mentioned just now. If you can’t satisfy me, you are still going to die!” Qing Shui’s gentle tone sounded just like a voice of a demonic murderer to Ding Haiyang’s ears.

“I’ll go now! Right away!”

Ding Haiyang bowed and said promptly before he dashed up the stairs at lightning speed.

“Old man! Tai Kangyan is dead. Please relay this message to the City Lord. I’m worried that I couldn’t hold myself back from attacking.” Qing Shui turned around and told the old man.

“Rest assured, Sir! This old man knows just how to handle this situation. No one shall disturb you in Fair Wind City.” The old man could tell that Qing Shui was a person who dislike troubles. It wasn’t that he was afraid of troubles, but more like he didn’t have the time to deal with all these trivial matters.

Qing Shui was very satisfied with the old man’s response. He saw that there were many people in the surrounding but there were basically no outsiders anymore. They were all people of the Fair Wind Antiques and Paintings as the others had already fled. Sometimes, being an onlooker came with a great price. Even if there was anyone who wanted to continue watching, they would be asked to leave sooner or later.

“Sir! Let us go upstairs and have a seat. There are still a few items that I have collected in my humble store. I’ll show them to you. If you’re interested in any of them, you can have them as a token of appreciation.”

This was such a good opportunity. There was no way the old man would miss the opportunity to have a connection with this formidable cultivator. If the other party was pleased, the Ding clan would benefit for a lifetime without doing anything.

“Alright! If I’m interested in any, I’ll definitely offer you a good price.” Qing Shui smiled and said. He turned his head to look at the few ladies.

“Qing Shui! We’ll return first. Come back early.” Canghai Mingyue smiled at Qing Shui.

“That’s fine too!”

He walked over to hug and kiss the little lass after he finished speaking. He then watched them walked down the stairs.

………

For the first time, Fair Wind Antiques and Paintings had closed its door. Qing Shui felt that it wasn’t too surprising that such an incident happened. If people of Ji Yunlang’s caliber could feel how terrifying he was, then these people who were still in the Fair Wind City would never have thought of it. Besides, he didn’t look too old either.

The higher they went, the smaller the area became. The fifth floor was no longer open to the public. Qing Shui and the old man entered the fifth floor while the others all waited on the fourth floor. The old man respectfully gestured for him to take a seat and personally poured Qing Shui some tea.

“You know me?” Qing Shui looked at the old man with a smile.

“I was fortunate to have seen you once.” The old man respectfully replied.

Qing Shui guessed it right away. It must have been during the battle with the Buddha Sect. Otherwise, it was impossible for him to be so respectful after only seeing him once before. Since he had seen him before, this saved Qing Shui a lot of troubles.

Just then, Ding Haiyang came over with a large chest in his hands. He then gently placed it down in front of Qing Shui. “Sir! I have bought this from a peddler. You may have a look!” Ding Haiyang said while he opened the chest. His hands trembled as this was a matter of life and death. If he couldn’t satisfy this person before his eyes, disaster would befall on him.

The large chest was very simple and unadorned, yet it looked sturdy and was also very heavy. However, something familiar caught Qing Shui’s eyes at the very first glance right after the chest was opened. It was a familiar looking scroll of painting.

Very familiar indeed. All this time, he never knew what these scrolls of paintings could be used for. He already owned eight of these scroll of paintings and now, he saw another one. Still, he was elated about it.

The Portrait of Beauty!

He didn’t even need to open it to be certain because the materials used for the painting were very unique. Hence, he didn’t need to open and look at it to confirm that it was a Portrait of Beauty.

The ninth Portrait of Beauty!

Qing Shui decided not to open the scroll. Instead, he looked at the other items. There were only two other items, but these two items made Qing Shui very excited. Perhaps he should say that it was one of them that made him very excited.

The Heaven Shaking Drum!

It was an exquisite small drum with a size of a foot. There was nothing alongside it that could be used to hit the drum. There was a trace of a desolate and ancient aura in its exquisiteness. However, not even the slightest trace of Spiritual Qi could be felt from it.

Qing Shui smiled. He thought of the Coiled Dragon Statue from earlier as well as the items back then, the Spirit Gathering Lamp and the Soulshake bell. These items need to be refined. He wondered to himself if he really wanted to be a Beast Tamer in the future after he saw all of these items.

The last remaining item was a worn out page and it actually had a faint Spiritual Qi on it. He reached out to pick it up, it was only then that he saw the words on it.

Seal of Xuantian, Second Part of Scroll Fragment!

Qing Shui frowned. What could this be? Seal of Xuantian, Second Part of Scroll Fragment? He flipped it opened to take a look, and discovered that this was a battle technique.

Seal of Xuantian, Second Part of Scroll Fragment. He had to search for the Seal of Xuantian, First Part and Third Part of Scroll Fragment before he could cultivate it. Qing Shui continued to read the description below but it was all over the place and difficult to understand. However, he also knew that this was a type of Absolute Seal Battle Technique, a Spiritual Battle Technique. From the name itself, it sounded like it was extremely powerful. Unfortunately, he couldn’t cultivate it.

“Sir! Please have a look……” Ding Haiyang wasn’t that confident when he saw Qing Shui looking through all these items with a calm expression on his face. It was because he didn’t know the values of all these items. He actually felt that the best item in there was the scroll fragment, but it was a pity that the scroll fragment couldn’t be cultivated. As for the small drum, it couldn’t make any sound and was indestructible no matter how it was hit. On the contrary, he had seen the portrait before. The woman in the painting was as beautiful as a saint. Initially, he was reluctant to take it out, but he had babbled about it when they were downstairs. Hence, he had to take it out for the sake of his life. That scroll of painting was the most precious item in his heart. If it wasn’t for the matter of life and death, he wouldn’t have spoken about this scroll of painting.

“Acceptable!”

It felt as if Qing Shui’s words had lifted a heavy rock off from Ding Haiyang’s heart. At the same time, the old man also brought few a more few items over. A pair of Jade Lions abundant with Spiritual Qi. It was fully charged with it. There was also a jade pendant, he could feel a cooling sensation with just a touch of it. It had a slight effect in boosting the spirit energy, which could slightly increase the recovery speed of spirit energy.

Qing Shui was very interested in these. There were also a few other items but Qing Shui wasn’t interested in them. However, his own clan might need some of them.

“Old man! If you can’t bring yourself to give these items up, I won’t force you either. If you can give them up, I’ll buy them. Offer me a price!” Qing Shui said with a smile.

“You’re kidding, Sir! If you like it, I will be very glad too. These items are nothing too pricey.” The old man told him with a smile.

Qing Shui laughed too. The old man actually hoped that Qing Shui would owe him a favor. Perhaps if not for a favor, then it was to get closer to him and to bridge their connections so that if something happened in the future, maybe Qing Shui could lend them a helping hand.

“Hehe! This is for you. See if you’re satisfied with it!” Qing Shui took out a bottle of Tiger Vitality Pills as well as a bottle of Constitution Nurturing Pills and left it on the table.

“Sir! I’ve said that these are gifts to……”

“Are you not satisfied with the items I’m giving?” Qing Shui was still smiling when he asked.

“I dare not!”

The old man quickly picked them up. With a wave of his hand, Qing Shui stored all the items into the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal then stood up. “I’m going to stay in the Fair Wind City. I won’t let anyone bully the people of the Fair Wind City. But I do not wish to see any of your people bully the weak either.”

Right after he finished his sentence, Qing Shui’s figure disappeared into the staircase in a flash. In another flash, he was gone. As soon as Qing Shui left, the old man sat on the chair. His back was already soaked in cold sweat since long ago.

He then picked up the two porcelain bottles and opened them. His hands trembled when he saw the medicinal pills in the porcelain bottles. It was worth it. These were much more expensive than those few items……

Qing Shui didn’t think about the matter with the Tai Clan from the City Lord Manor of the Fair Wind City anymore. He knew that the Ding Clan’s old man would handle this. He would pay a visit to the Cold Ice City tomorrow. It was about time he visited Hai Dongqing to see how she was doing recently.

The cultivation speed of the lady on the Portrait of Beauty was simply indescribable. It seemed like there was no problem on achieving the realm of Martial Emperor. He wasn’t certain what Hai Dongqing’s current strength was. It should be more or less the same as his.

After he went back, the ladies asked the situation and Qing Shui told them what had happened. A matter like this was nothing to the ladies anyway. Death was not sufficient for profligate sons like Tai Kangyan.

Qing Shui gave Luan Luan the jade pendant and then distributed the other items to the few ladies and the children. Everyone had their own share, especially the children.

He had an early dinner, and then he entered the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal.

Qing Shui picked up the Coiled Dragon Statue first then scrutinized it for a moment again. He then activated the Qi of the Ancient Strengthening Technique and tried to refine it. When the Qi of the Ancient Strengthening Technique was channeled into it without any obstruction, Qing Shui was ecstatic.

It was indeed the Coiled Dragon Statue. It was something akin to the Spirit Gathering Lamp, only that it increases the ability of demonic beasts to resist attacks. This also meant an increase in the demonic beasts’ defense.

The Spirit Gathering Lamp increase the Five Elements Energies of demonic beasts in terms of offense, spirit energy’s resistance. The Coiled Dragon Statue on the other hand increases resistance to physical attacks as well as one’s defence.

Very quickly, he had completely refined the Coiled Dragon Statue and filled the quota of the day. Qing Shui was already extremely happy with just the Coiled Dragon Statue. After he put it down, he picked up the Heaven Shaking Drum.

Earlier on, a trace of Spiritual Qi had appeared on the Coiled Dragon Statue after it was refined. This type of precious treasure was truly beneficial to him. He wasn’t sure how others would use it. Was he supposed to keep holding it? It would be useless if he kept it in the Interspatial Silk Sachet. However, he could use it if he put it in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. Ever since he owned the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, his fate started to gradually incline. It could be said that he wouldn’t be who he was today without the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal.

This was a type of formless coincidence. Perhaps this was an inscrutable twist of fate, some sort of unknown profoundness. This was the so-called fate of the mystery within a mystery.

Qing Shui couldn’t tell what was this Heaven Shaking Drum made out of. It had the size of a foot but it weighed around 300 jin. He hit the drum lightly with his hand but no drumbeat was heard. It was as if he was hitting a stone.

Feeling slightly apprehensive, he refined it for a little while. When the Qi of the Ancient Strengthening Technique was also successfully channeled into the Heaven Shaking Drum, he wanted to let out a blissful roar.

As long as the Coiled Dragon Statue and Heaven Shaking Drum were refined to the same grade as the Spirit Gathering Lamp, the demonic beasts’ overall strength would increase by about a fold. This meant that the Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant, Five-Headed Demonic Spider and the rest would also grow more powerful. It would be great if he had another treasure to enhance speed. But for now, he was already feeling content.

When he was done refining these two things, he finally shifted his attention to that familiar looking scroll of painting. He was very curious as well. Just who would be the woman in this Ninth Portrait of Beauty? Was she someone that he knew?