## AST 797 – The Eve Of The Battle

Things had calmed down after a session of love making. Qing Shui embraced Canghai Mingyue in his arms, feeling satisfied as he desired nothing else but for this moment. He discarded all his thoughts and immersed himself in the present. He knew these moments were short lived, after all, they had just finished having sex with each other……

Despite the brief morbid outlook, he took pleasure in moments like this and had quite enjoyed his current life. He felt extremely calm and cozy while embracing his naked wife in his arms, feeling the warmth and comfort in his heart.

Her skin was as white as snow and as smooth as jade. Qing Shui reached out and caressed her silky smooth skin, causing Canghai Mingyue to tremble slightly from the sensitivity of his touch.

“Qing Shui, no!” Canghai Mingyue grabbed Qing Shui’s hand and stopped him from caressing her further.

“I want to sleep while holding you in my arms. But that seems to have an opposite effect instead.” Qing Shui allowed Canghai Mingyue to press her voluptuous breasts against his chest. Her tender and firm breasts were the perfect shape. He couldn’t hold in his lust any longer and reached out to feel them gently in his hands.

………

Essentially, Qing Shui did not have a good sleep last night. Canghai Mingyue didn’t manage to get a decent sleep either. He could get some rest in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, while Canghai Mingyue could only get a good peaceful sleep when Qing Shui had gone to Huoyun Liu-Li’s room or to the other ladies’ rooms for the night. Nonetheless, Qing Shui would still be in good condition even if he didn’t manage to sleep for a few days. Moreover, he could always use the Aroma Concentration Pill to gain steady progress for his cultivation even when he had gone to sleep.

Qing Shui got up from the bed while Canghai Mingyue decided to sleep in for a bit longer. The sky had started getting bright when he went to the backyard for his morning practice. The familiar silhouette of a certain lady was absent today when he arrived to an empty backyard.

Despite that, he continued with his cultivation.

Taichi Fist!

Back Connecting Fist!

A series of distinctive blasts rang out in the air. He could feel the abundance of power inside him, as well as the copious amount of the purest energy that he had absorbed from the surrounding atmosphere.

The Nature Energy and the Heavenly Dan from the Upper Dantian began circulating after that. Ever since he had experienced an abnormal breakthrough to his powers that day, he didn’t experience anything similar to that from there on. The Heavenly Dan of golden sheen circulated slowly while consistently regulated with the lower parts of the Dantian, which was still in the liquid state.

Qing Shui had pondered about the possibility of the Lower Dantian forming a core like the Upper Dantian. During the first Heavenly Layer to the thirrd Heavenly Layer of the Ancient Strengthening Technique, the state of the Lower Dantian was in a gaseous form. It was only until he had reached the fourth Heavenly Layer that the Lower Dantian had transformed to liquid form, albeit maintaining the same form until now. However, the Lower Dantian had since gained a greater density than it had during the gaseous form – the Lower Dantian had gained the slight firmness of a gelatin, despite being in a liquid form. Because of that, Qing Shui had speculated that the Lower Dantian would transform into a core when he had reached the seventh Heavenly Layer of the Ancient Strengthening Technique.

He had gained ten times the power of his physical strength during the fourth Heavenly Layer, in which the Ancient Strengthening Technique had just transformed from an elementary stage to an intermediate stage. Ever since then, Qing Shui had been hoping for the breakthrough to the seventh Heavenly Layer due to the ascension to the next stage.

The breakthrough from the sixth Heavenly Layer to the seventh Heavenly Layer was essentially the ascension of the Ancient Strengthening Technique from an intermediate stage to an expert stage. If that were to happen, he would gain a ten times increase to his power, at the very least.

Qing Shui’s blood boiled with excitement when he thought about the benefits that he could reap from the breakthrough of his Ancient Strengthening Technique. If his powers were to increase ten times or more, then the final amount of his power would be……..

If that were the case, the Baima Aristocrat Clan, Eastern Palace Aristocrat Clan or other supreme aristocratic clans would seem like ants beneath him. However, the reality of the circumstance quickly came to his senses, as if it had slapped him across the face.

He hadn’t achieved the seventh Heavenly Layer yet and the Baima Aristocrat Clan were not ants either – Qing Shui was still expected to fight with everything he had. Moreover, breaking through the seventh Heavenly Layer would not be an easy feat. It would require a little bit of opportunity or perhaps a chock-full of opportunity, to be able to break through the seventh Heavenly Layer. He had thought about using the Duo Cultivation Technique to achieve a breakthrough for his Ancient Strengthening Technique. However, the Duo Cultivation Technique would normally be aimed for the breakthrough of the Realm of the Violet Immortal, not the other way around.

The movement of his Taichi Fist hadn’t stopped ever since he had started but his mind had already wandered away from his body. The first duo cultivation would always be more effective than the consequent attempts. He already had two suitable candidates in his mind to attempt the Duo Cultivation Technique together – Wenren Wushuang and Di Chen as both of them were women from the Portraits of Beauty. Despite the excellent candidates, Qing Shui still felt that this wasn’t the time to attempt the technique just yet.

From the past experience, after the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal had a breakthrough, the Ancient Strengthening Technique would follow behind and achieve a breakthrough as well. Qing Shui had a feeling that it would be the same for the consequent breakthroughs, so he decided that he would definitely upgrade the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal to the seventh level first.

Di Chen wasn’t quite suitable yet for the duo cultivation and Wenren Wushuang wasn’t quite ready yet. With the exception of these two, there was no one else who would be suitable to perform the Duo Cultivation Technique with Qing Shui. Even if he could perform the Duo Cultivation Technique right now, the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal wouldn’t necessary reach a breakthrough to the seventh level that he had yearned for.

There was nothing wrong for two people to be with each other if they were in a relationship. Wenren Wushuang had been alone all this time, so if she were to stay by Qing Shui’s side, she might be able to feel more at ease with herself. However, the incident with her elder sister had cast a blight over her perspective of life. Qing Shui felt that he might be able to diffuse the blight in her heart if he were to spend more time with her in the future.

The idea of using the Duo Cultivation Technique to upgrade the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal was a bust for now. Qing Shui shook his head and decided to let the breakthrough happen naturally. With time and patience, the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal would reach the seventh level eventually.

Clap clap!

The sun had already risen to the sky. Qing Shui’s silhouette shifted from being like a cunning rabbit, then to a stumpy giant bear and then to a posture of a python……

He had been demonstrating various styles of Taichi Fist, giving off different vibes with from each form. The only thing that hadn’t changed was his demeanor – calm, unperturbed, selflessness, stillness…….. Qing Shui tried his best to achieve the state of an unmoving mind.

As Qing Shui continued his morning practice, the other members of Qing Clan began to gather in succession and strengthen their cultivation as well. When he was done, some of the disciples from the third generation had already left, while some were preparing to leave. Everyone came to the backyard and practiced without ever disturbing his practice.

Qing Shui would always finish cultivating his techniques a bit later than everyone else because he needed to absorb the energy from the morning sun sufficiently. And because of that, breakfast in the Qing Clan would be served a bit later as well.

When he was preparing to leave the backyard, he caught a glimpse of his elder sister watching him nearby. He smiled and walked towards her while calling out: “Sis!”

Qing Shui felt an abundance of sympathy towards his elder sister despite not being able to spend more time with her. He didn’t know how to compensate her but she was lucky enough to have a mother by her side who loved her as much as he loved his elder sister. Both Qing Yi and Qing Shui had been thinking of ways to compensate the 20 years of loneliness Qing Qing had suffered. Qing Shui wanted to make her stronger, so that she could be happier. The reason she was suffering in the first place was the lack of strength on her part.

“Qing Shui!” Qing Qing stepped forward and smoothed Qing Shui’s wrinkled clothes as she flashed out a smile at him.

Qing Qing was only a bit stronger than a Xiantian but she was content with where she was. Qing Shui decided that he would help advance her strength after he had settled the matters with the Baima Aristocrat Clan. He had the capability to do it, so he figured why not.

Qing Shui and Qing Qing walked towards the front courtyard together. Her life was simple, yet she was happy and satisfied. Qing Shui had an impression that his elder sister was the quiet type. She seemed to maintain her calmness even after she had came back from the Yan Clan.

“Sis, I haven’t been able to help you these past few days since I was busy with my training. Do you have any wish I can fulfill?” asked Qing Shui with a smile.

“I wish you and mother safe and sound. I wish to keep everyone from harm. And I wish we all can live happily together.” Qing Qing revealed a smile of a blooming flower.

“What is your dream in life?” Qing Shui continued with a gentler tone.

“I dream of becoming stronger just like you.” said Qing Qing while maintaining a smile on her face. Qing Shui realized that she wanted to become like him and Luan Luan – to be able to fight together, not just watching from the sidelines.

Qing Qing gazed at Qing Shui silently. He was the pillar of strength to both the Qing Clan and the Heavenly Palace. He was a man who would carry the weight of his problems on his shoulders by himself. He fought the Yan Clan alone but he was lucky to have came out alive due to the handful of allies who had given him their assistance.

“Sis, I promise you, I will make you stronger than before.” Qing Shui said in a serious tone but with the same gentle smile.

Qing Qing was startled. She thought Qing Shui was only trying to comfort her but when she saw the genuine expression on his face, she knew he was serious about what he said. However, she clearly knew her own situation – it would be a challenge for her to become stronger.

“It’s alright, don’t think too much. I’m here for you, so you should be happy from now on. Remember to tell me anything if you are troubled.” Qing Shui comforted Qing Qing who seemed to be deep in her thoughts.

“Okay, I will remember that.” Qing Qing replied with a smile.

All Qing Shui could think now was to find more alchemy recipes. He didn’t have many to begin with, especially the ones that could boost one’s ability. At first, he thought of asking for some alchemy recipes from Yuan Su but he felt awkward about seeing her right now. She had confessed and he wasn’t a person so thick-skinned as to ignore that either.

Moreover, it would take some time to achieve the next alchemy recipe, of which he had no idea what kind it would be. In any case, once the matters with the Baima Aristocrat Clan had been settled, he would take Qing Qing and Qing You to tame some demonic beasts.

If she were to have a demonic beast of her own, then she might cheer up and feel happier.

………

Time passed in a blink of an eye. Autumn had gone and thus came winter. The leaves on the trees had withered. Soon another month had passed.

Strangely, the Baima Aristocrat Clan hadn’t showed up yet. The Heavenly Palace had already set up their own information system that was capable of receiving crucial news in the Greencloud Continent in a short amount of time. Information regarding other continents would be received as well, albeit slower than in Greencloud Continent.

In other news, Luan Luan had finally achieved a breakthrough to Martial Saint, adding another Martial Saint warrior to the Qing Clan. Most importantly, Luan Luan was a member of the fourth generation, which meant that she had become the youngest Martial Saint in the Qing Clan………

The Heart of Seven Orifices was indeed a wondrous artifact. Once she had become a Martial Saint, her powers were boosted to the terrifying amount of 180 countries of strength, which was stronger than when Qing Shui had just broken through the realm of a Martial Saint. Essentially, she could be regarded as a Grade One Martial Saint with that level of strength.

The breakthrough this time had increased her ability significantly, including her spiritual energy as well. To be concise, the breakthrough had an impact on her control over her demonic beasts. In other words, the number of demonic beasts she could tame – her ability to tame demonic beasts – was in correlation to the amount of spiritual energy she could contain. The stronger her spiritual energy was, the more the demonic beasts she could tame, thus strengthening her ability as well.

Based on his sources, the Baima Aristocrat Clan had already started their journey to the Heavenly Palace but would only reach the Heavenly Palace in about a week. By the time Qing Shui had received the news, there would have been four days left until their arrival.

……..

Numerous giant flying beasts soared through the sky in a swift motion. There were about five people on each flying beast, with the leading gigantic black crane carrying five elderly men on its back. These old men wore full clothing in black with the lining an image of a white horse.

The flying beasts were of the Dark Crane species!

These Dark Cranes were all Peak Martial Saints with the ability to spout the Yin Flame towards their opponents. The Yin Flame was a terrifying and deadly flame that simply couldn’t be doused with water. With this ability alone, the Dark Crane was deemed to be one of the most terrifying flying beasts in the world. The Dark Crane was also a flying beast of extraordinary speed.

“Old Ancestor, you don’t have to go personally for such a meager matter as this one.” One of the old men on the leading Dark Crane said to the leader with a smile.