Ancient Strengthening Technique (Web Novel)
chapter-567

567 - Jade Sea, Crystal Lion, Priceless Crystal Treasure

This situation was within Qing Shui’s expectations because the taste of the Drunken Immortal Wine and the Tiger Bone Liquor were exactly the same. It was just that the Cold Qi in the Drunken Immortal Wine canceled out the original effect of increasing the body’s constitution, and the Tiger Bone Liquor was very nourishing. Although the taste was the same but the price and the impact would be very different. Just this fact alone, If Qing Shui opened a restaurant across the Drunken Immortal Inn, he could openly squash the Drunken Immortal Inn out of business.

“Sire, Why did you help me? I know the value of this thing, please enlighten me.”

At this moment, the way Nian Feng addressed Qing Shui changed to Sire, this increased Qing Shui’s good will towards him. Had he continued to address Qing Shui as brother, Qing Shui might have had a very different opinion of him.

Most importantly, Qing Shui saw his expressions, this was a smart man, he knew what to do. The things that would be yours, even without asking for it, it will come to you. However, the things you are fated to not have, no matter how hard you try, it will not be yours.

“Like you said, it is fate. Brother Nian Feng, I tried this Drunken Immortal Wine, and I have to say that it is very coincidental that the recipe for these two wines are very similar. The ingredients in my wine are some 1,000 years Tiger Bone and Astral Fire Grass. However, one of the ingredients in the Drunken Immortal Wine should be the one of the essential Cold Dew, a cold attributed herb, furthermore, if this herb was not used, the quality of the wine would be severely impacted. Here, take this recipe!”

Qing Shui directly gave the recipe for the Tiger Bone Liquor to him, Nian Feng received it with a flurry. After all Qing Shui had already revealed the most important components, he had to accept this goodwill and he was happy to accept it.

“Brother Qing Shui, stay here for two days, I will prepare some things for you!” Nian Feng said seriously.

“Brother Nian Feng does not wish to be friends with me?” Qing Shui smiled and looked at Nian Feng.

“Who says so, being friends with you is more than I can ask for. However, Qing Shui, your Tiger Bone Liquor Recipe would be priceless to anyone. It is even more so to me, how can I just take it for free?”

“Like you said, we are friends and brothers. Money does not matter between us. I am going to be staying in the Jade Sea country for some time, I may have to rely on brother Nian Feng.” Qing Shui smiled.

“That’s nothing, if brother Qing Shui needs any help just say a word. In this area, I, Nian Feng, can be considered to be of influence.” Nian Feng was especially serious when he said this.

……

Jade Sea!

The endless expanse of jade green seawater looked especially aesthetically pleasing, and there was a faint Spiritual Qi flowing in the air. Around the beach, there were many villas, but the beach separated them from the sea by at least 5 kilometers.

There was no lack of people on the beach, especially during summer. Regardless of whether it was day or night, there would be a crowd of people moving together. However, many of them were either hunters or the descendants of rich families.

The rich descendants usually brought women here to relax and chase skirts, after all, the view and mood here were pretty good. The rest were people seeking treasures.

There were plenty of treasures in the sea, there was also millions of species of living creatures there as well. There could be some precious creatures with medicinal properties, rare fishes, or even special treasured stones……

The sun had already risen up, Qing Shui stood at the beach. The Fire Bird flew for half a night to arrive at the Jade Sea. The number of people on the beach was not little, and there were plenty of people of both genders. However, there was a lack of people wearing clothes that exposed a lot of skin.

The vast seawater that seemed like bejeweled nectar made Qing Shui feel that it was inconceivable. Looking at the surface of the sea, there were many small boats, and occasionally there was the laughter of some men and women.

Many of the people wore something similar to full body swimsuits, and swam around freely. Only a portion of children would be playing around in the water naked.

The biggest difference from the beach in his previous life was that the Xiantian cultivators could walk on water, although they had to use a lot of Xiantian Qi. Martial King cultivators could walk on the surface of the sea for a whole day without any problems.

Qing Shui wanted to see that Crystal Lion as well as see what rare or strange things there were in this Jade Sea!

Looking at the sea was an experience, and standing at the seaside could raise one’s horizons. It could also raise a person's mood, allowing one to be carefree. Climbing a mountain and looking at the view from the top also had the same effects, thus many people enjoyed looking at the sea or climbing mountains.

“Do you think that the Crystal Lion will appear? I hear that just a single Crystal Lion would be able to exchanged for a villa here.” A voice traveled to Qing Shui’s ears.

When he turned his head, he saw a few youths near him, four males and two females. They seemed to be about 25 or 26 years old, around the same age as Qing Shui.

Qing Shui felt that they did not look like those rich descendants but he did not find it strange, there were not that many rich descendants. When Qing Shui looked around, he felt that these people should be from a regular family.

“Tian Yuan, you fool, how could the Crystal Lion appear at the seaside? I hear that the nearest appearance was 5 kilometers away from shore, you will never see it at this seaside.” one of the other youths faced and told him.

“Sister Lan Tong, the Jade Sea is so big, I hear that there are only a few hundred Crystal Lions, where are we going to find one?” Tian Yuan turned his head and asked a girl with long hair.

“The girl looked at the sun in the sky: “prepare a small boat and fishing nets!”

Qing Shui had only just noticed this girl, her figure was pretty good. She was exquisite and delicate, her skin was white as snow, and her eyes were black and bright. She had dense long eyebrows, her nose was straight, small and delicate. The way her lips stuck out a little seemed to give her a special character.

His heart was moved, Qing Shui felt that this girl definitely knew where the Crystal Lions would appear!

“Hi, can I join your group?” Qing Shui walked over and asked.

The four boys and the two girls looked strangely at Qing Shui, especially that sister Lan Tong. She squinted her bright black eyes and looked at Qing Shui.

The appearances of the few men were pretty good, they seemed strong, tall and sturdy. At this moment, some of them were staring at Qing Shui.

“I do not have any ill intentions, I just want to partner up. I can take care of you. My cultivation should be higher than yours by a little, if anything happens, I can help out.” Qing Shui smiled, maybe they would agree to let him accompany them if he used this bargaining chip.

Lan Tong Looked at Qing Shui for a while before she smiled: “Welcome to the team!”

Qing Shui was stunned for a moment, originally this girl could only be considered beautiful, but when she smiled, Qing Shui felt as if a hundred flowers blossomed at the same time. This was a unique and comforting feeling.

“It is almost time, let’s go!” After a while, the girl told the crowd.

Earlier, Qing Shui had found out that they were the exploration group of the Jade Sea Country, and that they sought treasures and hunted for a living. Amongst the two girls, the one that was the leader was Lan Tong, and the other was Ya Rong.

Of the four boys, one was Tian Yuan, and the one who called Tian Yuan a fool was Tie Dong. The remaining two were brothers, the older one was Da Wu, and the younger one was Xiao Wu, their names were quite strange.

[TL notes: Da Wu and Xiao Wu in Chinese means big five and small five, the names could be strange because the do not share a family name but a given name.]

Five people rode on a small boat, tied behind the small boat was another small boat used as a backup! They rowed slowly into the water. At the same time, there were many other small boats headed into the deep water regions.

“Sis Lan Tong, the Crystal Lion is only the size of a palm, but I hear that it is also very poisonous, is that true?” said Tian Yuan naively as he displayed his curious spirit.

“The body of the Crystal Lion is not poisonous, but it creates a kind of crystal, this crystal is very precious. This crystal alone is useless but when combined with poison, it can raise the effect of the poison by onefold, sometimes even manyfold. When combined with medicine, it also has a similar effect of increasing the potency. It is a true treasure of the heavens and the earth. I hear that some special medicinal pellets can be combined with this crystal, gaining a similar increase in effects, thus this crystal is priceless. It is a pity that a Crystal Lion can only produce one crystal the size of the pinky every 500 years. Thus, the crystal is much more valuable than the Crystal Lion itself.”

At this moment, Qing Shui discovered that this girl was very well learned, she seemed to know a lot of things. This was what his intuition and the air she emitted told him.

Lan Tong occasionally looked at the sky, then directed Tian Yuan, Da Wu, and Xiao Wu to row the boat in a certain direction. At the same time, Qing Shui realized that there were many people in the distance doing similar things.

Now, Qing Shui finally knew why Lan Tong frequently looked at the sun. It was because that it was said that the Crystal Lion would appear in the area that the sun lit up late in the morning. However, Qing Shui saw that the area lit up by the sun was not small, good thing it was not noon, or else there would be sunlight everywhere, they would not even know where to look.

A long and narrow beam of sunlight extended into the deep sea region. Although it was described as narrow, its width was not small, thus many small boats continuously moved back and forth within it.

There were only a few hundred Crystal Lions in such a wide area. In order to meet one, it would require luck. In addition, although the Crystal Lion was not a demonic beast, it could travel very fast in water. It was very smart, had a mouthful of sharp teeth, and legends said that a regular treasured sword would not be able to break through its defense but it could bite it into scraps. Thus, when regular demonic beasts ate it, it would eventually bite its way out of the demonic beast’s stomach. It had a strong life force, it ate meat, and it was amphibious, however, it stayed in water most of the time. It was not a demonic beast yet regular demonic beasts feared this tiny creature.

Lan Tong and the others came to catch the Crystal Lion so that they could exchange it for some wealth or cultivation resources. However, with their strength, they should not be able to capture any Crystal Lions. However, Lan Tong had a special net passed down from her ancestors. It was unknown what it was made from, but the threads were silvery white, abnormally strong, and had a very sticky characteristic. It was a good treasure to have when fishing for anything.

However, they did not expect to have an additional Qing Shui!

The Crystal Lion was precious but not many people could wait for 500 years, thus they did not set their hearts on capturing a Crystal Lion, unless it was one that was about to produce a crystal.

“It appeared!”

“Where!”

…...