The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 999 - Changes to the Spirited Snake Turtle, Refining Hallow Pill

Everyone set up their camps here. The plains were cleaner than the plains back from Qing Shui's previous life. The children started playing on the thick layer of grass.

The others started to prepare dinner. Since there were a lot of them, they basically formed small groups to roast their food. A few of them had been tasked to hunt some game and after skinning the beasts and cleaning them up, they would bring them back to be cut into pieces.

In the past, only some of them would cook while the other rested or did other stuff. But eventually, Qing Shui made it compulsory for all of them to learn how to cook. What they learned were extremely precious soups and dishes. They enjoyed cooking them too. What they were doing was no longer mere cooking but was something similar to the level of Beast Tamers and Alchemists. It was because the effect of the soups they made were in no way inferior to medicinal pellets.

Qing Shui had taught them these in order to increase their survival skills as well as allowing them to become stronger as much as possible. After all, Qing Shui wouldn't be with them forever.

Qing Shui, Qing Yi, Qing Shui's wives, Qingqing, Guo Polun and the children sat around the campfire and cooked their food. The others were also cooking around a campfire but Qing Shui's group was the biggest.

Qing Luo, Lin Zhanhan, Elder Ge and the others sat together, occasionally laughing out heartily.

Everyone was chatting about the benefits they had gotten from the Sacred Land of Panacea this time around. They also felt that it was a pity that they could only stay here for a day. How nice would it be if they could stay for a year.

Everyone knew what Luan Luan had gained and they all felt that what she had gotten alone was already a big win for Qing Clan. Right now, Qing Clan had improved by great leaps and bounds.

After having their meal, Qing Shui called out his demonic beasts and put them on guard. With Luan luan around, he was assured. He then told the others not to disturb him unless there was something urgent, before he entered his tent and then the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal.

Upon entering, Qing Shui took out boxes with the Ancient Spirited Turtle Pearl and the Hallow Fruit. He had sealed them in boxes for storage previously and wanted to take them out now.

After much consideration, Qing Shui still decided to let the Spirited Snake Turtle into the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal's pond. It was a major contributing factor for how big the realm had become since it was a guardian spiritual creature which had the effect of Area Dominance.

Throughout such a long time, the Spirited Snake Turtle had always been very quiet, so much so that Qing Shui had almost forgotten about it. After taming this demonic beast, he had basically not paid it much heed.

In the past, the old turtle in the crystal palace had given him a Water Repelling Pearl or Divine Turtle Spirited Pearl but he had returned it to the old turtle. Right now, looking at the Ancient Spirited Turtle Spirit Pearl's introduction, it had seemed that this was very much similar to the Divine Turtle Spirited Pearl but their effects seemed to be different. One was extremely amazing while the other was edible even though it was also very amazing.

Qing Shui gave it some thought and still finally decided to give it to the Spirited Snake Turtle. He had originally wanted to give it to the Diamond Gigantic Elephant but decided against it on the thought that the effect would be heavily reduced.

Qing Shui called out the Spirited Snake Turtle and handed it the Ancient Spirited Turtle Pearl.The Spirited Snake Turtle appeared far from ordinary to Qing Shui. It was just like a combination of a huge python and a huge turtle. Moreover, it was a spiritual species.

After seeing that pearl, the Spirited Snake Turtle's eyes shot up with a powerful glow of yearning. It took a look at Qing Shui and in that moment, it was as if he could see the turtle's eyes or snake's eyes having a hint of hope and questioning.

Qing Shui could now communicate with the Spirited Snake Turtle through his consciousness but he didn't do so this time. He could tell what it meant and nodded. The Spirited Snake Turtle bit the Ancient Spirited Turtle Pearl and then swallowed it down directly.

Qing Shui hadn't thought of what powerful demonic beast this Spirited Snake Turtle could grow into. He only treated it as a guardian beast for the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal with the Area Dominance effect.

After swallowing the Ancient Spirited Turtle Pearl, the Spirited Snake Turtle became very quiet and Qing Shui also looked at it quietly. After the time it would take for one to drink a cup of tea passed, the Ancient Spirited Turtle Pearl still continued to stay there without moving. This made Qing Shui very stumped.

Just as his imagination was running wild, the Spirited Snake Turtle let out a short cry which sounded very weird. Then, its snake-like head and tail, as well as its turtle shell let out a rustic glow.

"It's bigger!"

Qing Shui watched as the Spirited Snake Turtle's body gradually grew bigger. At the same time, the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal and the pond was also growing bigger. Before he could feel surprised, he realized that there was a scorching aura on his forehead.

His spirit energy had increased, no, his overall cultivation levels were all increasing.

Qing Shui looked in a daze at the Spirited Snake Turtle which was still changing.

He had never expected that it could caused him to become stronger and it seemed to be very much stronger than before. It was because he realized that his physical strength had already increased by 20 stars but the rate was starting to slow down.

It stopped. Qing Shui looked at the Spirited Snake Turtle which was now bigger than it was before by several times. It was only about ten meters to begin with and a now it was over 30 meters. Compared to other old turtles, the Spirited Snake Turtle looked more savage and the runes inscribed on its turtle shell looked extremely profound. Qing Shui was astonished to see that its strength had increased from almost none to 100 stars.

The Ancient Spirited Turtle Pearl was a condensation of 20% of the essence to a 10,000 Years or more Spirited Turtle's essence but it seemed unbelievable that it had let the Spirited Snake Turtle become a demonic beast with a strength of 100 stars directly.

He looked at it with his Heavenly Vision Technique.

Spirited Snake Turtle, a spirit beast of the Heaven and Earth, with an ancient bloodline, with the nature of Area Dominance. It allowed its owner's spirit energy depletion to be reduced by 20% and spirit energy damage received to be reduced by 20% too.

Excellent!

Although it still couldn't participate in fights, Qing Shui felt really good. Right now, what he was most afraid of were spirit energy attacks. It was just like when he had encountered the Seven-headed Scarlet Serpent in the Sacred Land of Panacea. If his spirit energy was powerful enough, the prowess of his Divinity Protection would definitely increase. The prowess of the Divinity Protection had a direct relation with the amount of his spirit energy.

20% reduction in the depletion of spirit energy allowed Qing Shui's primordial flames to be able to sustain longer. 20% reduction in the damage received from spirit energy allowed the person who attacked with his spirit energy to cry helplessly.

To think that his strength had now increased by 25 stars. Right now, Qing Shui's physical strength alone was at 175 stars. He was getting closer and closer to his goal.

He looked at the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal which had grown to be about two times as big as before. Qing Shui felt that it was a great decision that he had given the Ancient Spirited Turtle Pearl to the Spirited Snake Turtle. The Spirited Snake Turtle shouldn't have reached a mature age yet but it already had the strength of an early Martial Emperor. Turtle' lifespan could only be described as terrifying and with the Spirited Snake Turtle guarding the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, Qing Shui had nothing to be worried about.

Although the Spirited Snake Turtle was now bigger, so was the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal and the pond. RIght now, it was like a small-scale lake, giving Qing Shui a great sense of satisfaction.

He then looked at the Hallow Fruit. Qing Shui was very agitated. In all, the greatest takeaway he got this time around was this Hallow Fruit. Even when compared to the Mysterious Fruit, it wouldn't lose out and might even be better.

However, his understanding of this item was only based on what that was recorded in historical books. The Hallow Fruit could be refined into medicinal pills and there wasn't a need for any other medicinal herbs. Of course, he could also add in stuff like the Golden Snake Grass, Silver Snake Grass or other items which could increase his success rate.

The Hallow Fruit was the legendary sacred fruit which could be used by both demonic beasts and humans. However, legend had it that it was very dangerous to eat a Hallow Fruit, since most people wouldn't be able to withstand the impact of the powerful energy. Therefore, this was why the historical books had records of people using the Hallow Fruit in alchemy, refining the Hallow Pill.

Qing Shui didn't have any hesitation. Right now, he felt that his spirit energy was powered up. Moreover, the Spirited Snake Turtle could allow the depletion of 20% of his spirit energy. This was a great benefit for when he performs alchemy and refining demons. 20% was very powerful.

He had no lack of Golden Snake Grass and thus, Qing Shui wasn't too nervous in refining the Hallow Fruit, just a little. After all, the Hallow Fruit was extremely precious. However, even if most people were to get their hands on it, they wouldn't be able to refine or use it. Of course, there would be exceptions when one has Golden Snake Grass.

Without the Golden Snake Grass, the success rate of refining the Hallow Fruit was horribly low. There were many records of such things in historical books but most of the people involved would purchase Golden Snake Grass regardless of the price they had to pay. They would then find a powerful alchemist to refine the Hallow Fruit.

While it seemed like it was very easy for Qing Shui to get his hands on the Golden Snake Grass that wasn't the case. When he first got the Golden Snake Grass, there was the Golden Jiao King and it was primarily because he had the Pure Gold Fishing Rod. And this time around, there was even a 6,000 stars Golden-Back Giant Crocodile Emperor. One had to raid the item from the mouth of dangers...

Refining. This time around, Qing Shui hoped that he would be able to refine more Hallow Pills. This refining was to condense the fruit into micro size. While the Hallow Fruit was translucent, even blades wouldn't be able to harm it in the least.

Qing Shui prepared the Vital Essence Pill and the other items before he started refining. The time he had in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal had just started and even if the entire process took a whole eighty-one days, he wasn't afraid of being kicked out.

In the blink of an eye, one month passed!

Qing Shui had no distractions in his mind. In the middle of the process, he had already taken four Vital Essence Pills. He had already dissolved the Hallow Fruit and was now condensing it. Qing Shui now understood that it was extremely difficult to refine the Hallow Pill and there would probably not be many people who would be able to withstand the spirit energy depletion.

All of the alchemists mentioned in the historical books who had refined the Hallow Fruits were extremely powerful and were prominent characters of the time. Even if ordinary alchemists had gotten their hands on the Hallow Fruit, they wouldn't be able to do anything to it.

Another month passed by!

By now, most of the Hallow Fruit had already condensed. If there was even a little mistake or if he couldn't withstand it, the whole thing would explode. Taking form didn't mean that it was a success.

Time was a powerful sign in alchemy. One times one (one day), two times two (four days), three times three (nine days), four times four, five times five, six times six, seven times seven (49 days), eight times eight (64 days) and nine times nine (81 days). Nine was the maximum and under ordinary circumstances, the longer the duration, the stronger the medicinal pill. While this was how the principle went, it wasn't something absolute.

Another four days passed and Qing Shui focused all of his attention on the Golden Flint Iron Cauldron. His two hands moved about slightly. The primordial flames were now so weak that they was almost non-existent.

Ding!

The familiar melodious rang out, causing Qing Shui's heart to calm down but great happiness surged. When the primordial flames in his hands slowly extinguished, Qing Shui just laid down on the spot.

Although he didn't feel like sleeping, he still decided to take a break. It would still take some time before the Golden Flint Iron Cauldron cooled down and he had some time to sleep.

After eight hours, Qing Shui woke up promptly, rejuvenated and was in peak form.

He quickly sat up and opened the Golden Flint Iron Cauldron. A spiritual aura came out, making one feel refreshed yet enlightened. It was like a light fragrance but at the same time, it wasn't. However, it was more addictive than any other fragrances.

The Hallow Pills were snow-white like jade and were glittering and translucent. They were the size of soybeans and exuded a holy glow. Qing Shui quickly took out a specially made porcelain bottle and stored all of them inside, leaving only one behind.

99 pills!

Qing Shui was astonished by the number. In the historical books, the highest number of Hallow Pills refined by a person was only 49.

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