The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 932 - 12 Heavenly Meridians, The Primordial Flame Whip 'Breaking' Jade Jiao

Gu Wu stared at Qing Shui standing adjacent to him, while rising above the sky with both hands emitting streams of black colored Qi that quickly transformed into two 30 meter long black pythons. The pythons shot out their pitch-black tongues as they slithered menacingly, terrorizing the hearts of the crowd with their wicked demeanor.

Qing Shui's expression changed for the first time since the beginning of the disturbance. Clearly, he had underestimated this man. So without a second to spare, he conjured a five meter long Primordial Flame on his hands and slowly condensed the flame into two Primordial Flame Balls.

This battle had no mercy for carelessness whatsoever. He initially wanted to use the Heart Toxin Talisman against Gu Wu, but felt it unsuitable at a time like this. These thoughts were quickly discarded, leaving him the choice to use it when he really needed to.

Qing Shui did so because he had a feeling that the man might have some kind of treasure in his possession. The Ten Thousand Great Thunderbolt Qing Shui had unleased had been blocked completely and he was also unsure whether this man could block the same attack for the subsequent times. This was indeed troublesome, especially when the man had two black pythons slithering from both of his hands right now.

The pythons weren't just poisonous by Qing Shui's speculation, because they were not real to begin with. Certainly, the surreal pythons had a terrifying level of agility and ferocity and it might be impossible to defend against beings of such power. Before that should happen, Qing Shui decided to stall for as much time as possible and use his killer move to strike them down.

Twin Dragon Pearls!

Qing Shui immediately formed two Primordial Flame Balls in his hands. His spiritual energy and spiritual sense as well as his power had undergone a slight change, achieving a small success stage especially after he had decided to stay with Mu Qing. Suddenly, he realized what had exactly changed inside him.

Twelve Heavenly Meridians!

The four channels had been cleared among the Twelve Heavenly Meridians. Indeed, human bodies were one of the greatest mysteries in the world. Besides the normal channels, there were other channels hidden deep within the human body. In spite of that, the hidden channels were considered to be quite strong and only a handful of people in the world could clear these particular channels successfully.

Qing Shui was able to realize the hidden channels within a human body from the moment the four channels had been cleared, thus granting him a characteristic change in his spiritual ability. The pearl from the Niwan Palace had become twice as big, almost like the size of a small marble. The Yin-Yang Image had experienced a change as well.

However, unlike the spiritual ability, his powers did not receive an impressive change after a tremendous breakthrough. Ten stars of strength was quite powerful and substantial, but more rigid. Despite this, it wasn't all that bad. He could always refine his powers, much like the process of tempering a weapon or armor.

With four channels cleared, Qing Shui seemed to have realized something different about himself. His spiritual ability had reaped most of the benefits from this breakthrough. Still, he felt odd having thoughts like this during a battle with a ferocious opponent like Gu Wu.

All of that happened within an instant. Qing Shui watched on as the flame balls shrouded with ferocious streaks of dark silhouetted energy flew towards the unfazed man from the Poison Mountain Stockade.

Gu Wu was cautious as well, as he simultaneously released the 'black pythons' in his hands towards the incoming Primordial Flame Balls without hesitation. The pythons sprang across the flames while they hissed, baring their fangs in a lifelike motion.

Hiss hiss!

Bang bang!

The high-pitched hisses were followed by the dull sounds of collision, which simultaneously created an explosion in the air, filling the empty space with thick smoke and toxic gas.

"Young man, you are very strong. Unfortunately, you are against me and I don't have time to play with you any longer. Saintly Venomous Jade Jiao, arise!"

Gu Wu rushed towards Qing Shui while flashing a wicked smile that could send shivers down his spine. After that, he shouted in a roaring tone that echoed throughout the sky.

A gleam of light the color of jade flashed from his body when he uttered the last word. Both of his hands erupted in a dense jade-like aura, which simultaneously extended to about 30 meters long.

Roar roar!

Two distinct roars could be heard bursting in the sky, as the elongated aura transformed into two Jade Jiao crossing each other in a circular motion. The bodies of the twin Jiao were gleaming in a brilliant luster of jade, which was exquisite and beautiful to look at. However, Qing Shui's spiritual sense was telling him that the jade-colored Jiao was at least ten times more toxic than the previous 'black pythons'.

Nevertheless, he had already prepared a Heart Toxin Talisman on his hand to throw at Gu Wu!

There was nothing else to think of right now. All he had to do was to kill this man, because if Gu Wu was left breathing after this fight, Qing Shui would be the one to die today. Of all places, Qing Shui didn't expect that there would be such a freak like him within the Poison Mountain Stockade.

The Heart Toxin Talisman of absolute accuracy was torn apart yet again when the distance from the opponent was getting close. Qing Shui released another Heart Toxin Talisman towards Gu Wu without the intention of giving up.

Roar roar!

Just then, Gu Wu shook both of his hands, followed by two giant Jade Jiao letting out two thundering roars before they leaped towards Qing Shui. As they opened their ferocious jaws to let out a piercing cry, a blazing stench of 'jade aura' was subsequently released to the air.

The jade colored aura was sparkling brilliantly like a lustrous jade, but was swept across the sky at an accelerated rate. The jade aura seemed like a streak of icy flames shrouded with a hint of ghastly radiance that gave Qing Shui a brief fright.

His spiritual sense could now detect the menacing threat of the jade aura clearly and distinctively.

Fiery Golden Eyes!

As soon as he used the weakening technique on Gu Wu, a stream of ripples appeared around his body, indicating the ineffectiveness the technique against him. Qing Shui was clearly shocked and worst of all, he was unhappy about it!

Emperor's Qi!

This time, there were no ripples to be seen. The domineering Emperor's Qi has the ability to ignore the opponent's strength and defenses!

The domineering Emperor's Qi did not let Qing Shui down. 20% debuff was a terrifying reduction, because the weakening ability had affected all aspects of his opponent's power!

With that, the imposing forces of the twin Jade Jiao were immediately reduced. And at the same time, Qing Shui shot two Primordial Fire Balls, which had hit the Jade Jiao, but did not burn them to crisps.

Despite being unable to burn them, he was able to melt one of the heads successfully. However, in a mere few seconds, the head was regenerated, as if they hadn't been hurt in the first place. The twin Jade Jiao assumed their demeanor and rush towards Qing Shui in a quick motion.

Coagulating the Primordial Flames required time. However, time was not a privilege he was given by his opponents.

Feeling annoyed, he shot out two 10,000 Years Frosted Iron Balls immediately, which were promptly blocked by the twin Jade Jiao. Even though the Jade Jiao had turned darker in color, they were able to recover quickly, reverting the darker color to its original color.

In any case, Qing Shui didn't want the Jade Jiao anywhere near him. His spiritual sense was telling him that the poisonous beings were extremely dangerous and he didn't want to risk himself to find out. So with a flash of his silhouette, he transversed behind Gu Wu and shot a 10,000 Years Coldsteel Needle at his head.

With the Roc Spreading Wings at its large success stage, Qing Shui was able to nab the advantage of speed with his Nine Palace Steps. However, his opponent had an inborn poisonous physique, as well as two poisonous Jade Jiao akin to two ferocious giant pythons. The Jade Jiao were perhaps even stronger than the giant pythons - they were untouchable…..

Ding!

Blocked once again, Qing Shui finally realized his opponent might have something valuable up his sleeves. Or perhaps he had a technique that resembled Qing Shui's 'Divinity Protection' and that would certainly have a cooldown time as well.

Even so, Qing Shui's opponent was visibly frightened. The twin Jade Jiao flew in a circle around Gu Wu, placing him in the middle. After that, the twin Jade Jiao rushed towards Qing Shui in a flash.

"He's scared!"

Qing Shui had a feeling that the 10,000 Years Coldsteel Needles might be at their limit. If these Coldsteel Needles had a bit more prowess in them, perhaps the battle would have ended earlier than this…...

He could only use his Nine Palace Steps to run away. He felt a bit annoyed seeing how his opponent was able to control the twin Jade Jiao efficiently. What he didn't expect either was the fact that Gu Wu had mastered the Transformation Technique as well!

Of course, the Transformation Technique!

The user of this technique would be able to combine his Qi of Xiantian to form a powerful demonic beast to participate in the battle, just like how Gu Wu had called forth the Jade Jiao. The Transformation Technique was known to be powerful as it was a technique exclusively for those who had reached the level of a Martial Emperor. Moreover, it was rumored to be a technique of a legendary level as well.

He was also wondering whether the Nine Animals Mimicry Technique that he had cultivated would be able to transform…...

There was no time to lose. He figured that he must stall for more time, but stalling might be a bit risky for now.

With another Nine Palace Steps, he evaded the incoming attack of the twin Jade Jiao in a flash.

The slithering of the giant Jade Jiao was as fast as lightning, as well as flexible in its movement. If Qing Shui didn't have the Nine Palace Steps in the first place, he would have been wounded the moment the Jade Jiao unleashed an assault. Gu Wu was a man to be feared and the Mu Clan would not even stand a chance against him at this point.

Even if Gu Wu were to be attacked from all sides, the members of the Mu Clan would never stand a chance. The twin Jade Jiao might seem beautiful from their gleaming appearance, but the humongous beasts were nevertheless poisonous to touch.

The Primordial Flames were now about a foot thick, spreading across the battlefield at about 5 meters in length. When he was still in the middle of coagulating his flames, he could see the roaring Jade Jiao swirling towards his direction from the corner of his eyes…..

Qing Shui could now use the Primordial Flames with superb efficiency - one of the changes brought about from his breakthrough. Since he could conjure the flames quite efficiently, a daring thought then popped up in his mind.

He retreated abruptly and quickly pulled his flames apart, extending its length to about 20 meters long…..

The thickness of the flame was about the size of a thumb. Even though the whips were long, Qing Shui also noticed that the strength of the whip was in correlation to his powers. He was overwhelmed with a sudden surprise, clearly excited to unleash the force of the flames once more.

The 'Primordial Flame Whip' about 30 meters long oscillated across the battlefield in a nimble motion, breaking one of the Jiao's heads in a successful strike…..

Hiss hiss…..

The giant head that had been whipped had turned into an obscure image, as if it was going to disappear at any second.

Haha…...

Qing Shui burst into laughter, as he began to move his hands, making the flame whips seem increasingly nimble, as if they were two life-like snake whips. With that, he continued to strike the whips against the bodies of the twin Jade Jiao relentlessly.

The pace of his strikes was agile, unlike before when he had prioritized the force of the attack more than the whip's agility. Even though he was able to destroy their heads successfully or destroy one-third of the Jade Jiao, his opponents would regenerate in an instant. The conjuring of his Primordial Flame Balls required a bit more time to form, thus it was unable to keep up with the pace of the Jiao's regeneration rate.

Now that he had the whips, he was able to match up against the regenerative ability of the twin Jade Jiao. The power of the 'Primordial Flame Whips' was able to block against the assault of the Jiao as well, becoming nimbler by the minute. He hadn't needed to evade anymore and he was able to stay on his ground while forcing the twin Jade Jiao to retreat from his attacks.

"So the Primordial Flames can be used this way, rather than shooting them as flame balls." Qing Shui was elated by his new discovery.

The crowd was stunned as they would never have imagined the battle to go on to such an extent. Most of them were beginning to feel concern about Qing Shui because Gu Wu was an extraordinary cultivator honed in the Poison Mountain Stockade. The strongest one in the Poison Mountain Stockade wasn't one of the old fools from before, but this man pitting himself against Qing Shui in the field.

Crack crack!

Hiss hiss!

The Primordial Flame Whip was able to crack open the heads of the twin Jade Jiao and Qing Shui continued to lash the whip as much as he could to defend against the soaring beasts. As the time passed by, the 'toxic gas' inside Gu Wu's body was starting to run low.

Meanwhile, Qing Shui's golden pellet in his Dantian circulated very quickly, with an enormous amount of energy flowing to his limbs and bones continuously. The Yin-Yang Image was also circulating at a fast speed as well, one could tell with their naked eyes that he was swiftly being replenished with an abundance of Qi. Although the output rate of his Qi was comparatively higher than the replenishing rate, the replenished amount was able to make up to the rate of his loss.

The twin Jade Jiao had become shorter in length, which made Qing Shui increasingly uneasy. With another Heart Toxin Talisman flung across his opponent, the twin Jade Jiao simultaneously extended towards Qing Shui in an abrupt movement, stretching to one-third longer than that of their best forms. The speed of the twin Jade Jiao was as fast as the hisses of their tongues.

Qing Shui quickly retreated as he lashed the Primordial Fire Whip at the Jade Jiao to block their attack.

He evaded it, but or to better put it, he countered the Jade Jiao with his Nine Palace steps, causing the twin Jade Jiao to soar upwards abruptly before backing off in a hurry. At the same time, the Heart Toxin Talisman had successfully hit his opponent, staggering Gu Wu an instant before he started acting in a frenzy from the psychological attack.

The Heart Toxin Talisman had allowed Qing Shui to witness its peerless power....

And in that window of time, Qing Shui struck the Primordial Flame Whip against Gu Wu's head without hesitation!

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