The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 599 - Golden Buddha Aura Lotus, Thunderous Beast

Her laughter did not carry a seductive or enticing tone, it didn't even evoke any kind of licentious thoughts. Yet, it was the most beautiful sound on earth. It could almost cleanse your soul, letting one feel a sense of peace. A feeling that your entire being is being elevated, it was miraculous.

Qing Shui let his Diamond Gigantic Elephant stand guard outside, while he allowed his Fire Bird to go back into the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal to rest. Qing Shui laid on a bed inside his tent and entered into the realm in a split second.

He only realized how tedious it was to practice Fiery Golden Eyes after he'd already started. It was so challenging that he felt even reaching the small success stage will take a long time. At the same time, Qing Shui was even more certain now that Emperor's Qi was some god-level battle technique.

Even if his Fiery Golden Eyes reached its Great Perfection Stage, Qing Shui knew that it wouldn't compare to the prowess of his Emperor's Qi. Despite all that, Qing Shui still looked forward to the outcome. He knew that it would be incredibly powerful if he utilized it with Emperor's Qi.

His progress on Heavenly Dan had also depleted. Such a change was normal after the connection formed within his Dantian. After all, he took quite a hefty amount of time to breakthrough to the fifth level.

As for his Blue Lotus Art, just as it was previously, there hadn't been much changes. The only thing was that Qing Shui could now control the three petals of the golden lotus flower as he wished. Unfortunately, it could only be used to boost his base defence by thirty percent, and had no impact on his attack. Qing Shui found it too bothersome to use in any normal circumstances.

……

When he came exit the Realm of Violet Jade Immortal, it was only the early hours of morning. Qing Shui laid on the bed inside his tent while thinking about the incident with Di Chen during dinnertime. Qing Shui was perplexed.

Towards a woman like Di Chen, Qing Shui prevented himself from pondering too deeply about her. He only treated her like family, but unfortunately the appearance of the Red-lined snake had punched a hole in his self-imposed barrier.

When they began their journey, he allowed Di Chen to bring along the things that she couldn't bear to part with. She even brought along that expensive Immortal Bed, that was the first time Qing Shui saw it.

That bed was an item of legend. It was made from a kind of "divine wood", and was created by the legendary Art of Carpentry. Qing Shui didn't ask Di Chen how she obtained an Immortal Bed, but it seemed as if it involved Di Qing. After all, that furniture store was opened by Di Qing.

Some time past midnight, Qing Shui could hear his Diamond Gigantic Elephant skywalking, and the sounds of wild beasts running away. Qing Shui knew that his Diamond Gigantic Elephant was chasing the beast herds away so he didn't take any action.

Qing Shui woke up early the next morning. He faced towards the east on this vast spacious grassland, channelled his Nature Energy and started practicing his Taichi Fist. Qing Shui enjoyed the freshness brought by the clean air. One could only learn to enjoy such clean and fresh air after experiencing polluted air for so long.

After a while, Di Chen came out of her tent as well. She greeted Qing Shui with a smile before walking towards a nearby river, probably for her morning cleansing routine.

Since Qing Shui had his Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, he could complete his morning routine very conveniently!

As Qing Shui looked at the view of Di Chen's back, he sensed that she had changed a little. He couldn't really tell what exactly had changed, so he decided to not think much about it. No matter what, things will work out in the end.

"Qing Shui!"

Qing Shui quickly rushed over after suddenly having heard Di Chen's voice. He was worried that she may have got into trouble, but he noticed that Di Chen was alright when he reached her.

Qing Shui was puzzled, "Sister Chen, what happened?" he asked.

"Look over there." Di Chen pointed to the middle of the river.

The river was about two hundred meters wide. In the World of the Nine Continents, it could be considered a small river. After all, they were in the savanna. The river was clear, but the riverbed wasn't visible, so Qing Shui estimated that the river probably had a depth of a hundred meters.

The river flow was rapid. Qing Shui looked toward the direction that Di Chen was pointing. Some distance from them at the river's center, there was a golden lotus flower which was about the size of a human. It shone brightly and was extremely eye catching.

Golden Buddha Aura Lotus!

Qing Shui was able to recognize that huge golden lotus flower with just a glance. It was the legendary Golden Buddha Aura Lotus. It's said that the locations where you can find Golden Buddha Aura Lotuses are those which contain Buddhist relics, Sarira. A Golden Buddha Aura Lotus could only develop after having absorbed the essence of Sarira.

Golden Buddha Aura Lotus was a sacred object capable of reviving a person, it was definitely a treasured item. Of course, it could only revive a person that hadn't been dead for more than fifteen minutes. If a person had died long ago, no amount of revival medicine would be of any use.

It could also be added to medicine. Another valuable part of it was the lotus seeds; it could cleanse the body, strengthen the bones and muscles, and even extend one's lifespan and cultivation. However, it also took a long time for the lotus seeds to develop, hence it was known by another name, the Ten-thousand-year Golden Lotus.

This knowledge all came from rumors and books. Qing Shui did not know if it differed in reality. Being able to find such a legendary plant, Qing Shui observed it with much curiosity.

The Golden Buddha Aura Lotus had nine petals. Each petal was about the size of a human head. When the petals closed, it was capable of wrapping around an adult man.

"Sister Chen, I want to go over and have a look, just stay here for a while." Qing Shui wanted to touch it, he didn't want to miss this opportunity. Discovering such a plant was up to fate, not something that could be willed.

"Qing Shui, It's rumored that such a Golden Buddha Aura Lotus would be guarded by a Thunderous Beast. " Di Chen said worriedly.

Qing Shui could not help but feel slightly apprehensive when he heard that a Thunderous Beast may be around. These things were all of legends, but since the golden lotus had appeared, it wouldn't be surprising if a Thunderous Beast also made an appearance.

In history books, it is recorded that Thunderous Beasts are demonic beasts which are at least of the Martial Saint stage or above. They have strong survival skills and they were the strongest within all creatures of water, land and sky. The rumored creatures were purple and resembled cows. They have three sharp horns, and a fully mature Thunderous Beast can reach up to one hundred meters in height and capable of generating a large electrical attack.

This was all the information that Qing Shui had obtained regarding the Thunderous Beast. They were all high level Martial Saints. High level Martial Saints are those that are at Grade seven or above. If a Peak Grade Martial Saint beast showed up, it could definitely kill Qing Shui in a second.

Even if a demonic beast is of the same grade as a human, the human couldn't compare to them. It requires about three to five martial artists of the same grade to have a chance at winning against the demonic beast.

"Look, there are no Thunderous Beasts around. It is such a huge demonic beast, there aren't any places for it to hide around this area. It is just a legend, they don't exist." Qing Shui said feeling quite lucky.

Di Chen looked around, she especially paid attention to the water. A Thunderous Beast could travel in the water, on land or in the skies. If they could not spot it on land or in the sky, the higher the likeliness that it was hiding in the water.

"Qing Shui, let's wait for a bit. Let's see if there really is no Thunderous Beast safeguarding that flower. " Di Chen still felt that it was a slightly inappropriate.

"Sister Chen, I feel that there is no Thunderous Beast around to guard that flower. If there really was such a guardian beast, there wouldn't be any other demonic beast within a hundred mile radius. We camped overnight so close to this area and didn't meet with any mishap…"

Qing Shui words caused Di Chen to think deeply. After thinking for some time, she said to Qing Shui, "If there was no demonic beast guarding it, then this Golden Buddha Aura Lotus wouldn't have been able to grow so safely here."

Qing Shui agreed, but with a quick thought, he said to Di Chen, "There could be a demonic beast guarding it, one that is capable enough to protect the lotus, but it still may not be strong. Besides, there are only a few demonic beasts within one kilometer of either side of the river, but it's unable to intimidate any creatures that are slightly further. I don't think that it can defeat us. Otherwise, it would've already appeared."

Qing Shui's eyes flashed for a moment. Suddenly, he had his sight on the lotus, and a trace of doubt and shock appeared in his eyes.

"It's within that Golden Buddha Aura Lotus." Qing Shui smiled and told Di Chen.

"Let's force it out?" Di Chen said after thinking for a bit.

"How?"

"What do you think it cares most about?" Di Chen laughed as she looked at Qing Shui.

"The Golden Buddha Aura Lotus!"

"Yes. Let your red bird use a fire attack on the Golden Buddha Aura Lotus. We should be able to force it out using this method." Di Chen looked up at Qing Shui Fire Bird, which was in the sky.

"What if the Golden Buddha Aura Lotus accidently gets damaged by the fire?"

"Golden Buddha Aura Lotus can't get damaged that easily. I think it's difficult to even phase the plant without the strength of a Martial Saint." Di Chen replied with a smile.

Caw!

His Fire Bird shot out a large big fireball at the Golden Buddha Aura Lotus. Qing Shui commanded the Fire Bird to aim a little off target on purpose.

Boom!

Chi Chi…

The Golden Buddha Aura Lotus didn't receive any damage at all, but they weren't able to manage forcing the demonic beast out either!

Qing Shui and Di Chen looked at each other. Qing Shui sky-walked over, Qing Shui could see what was inside the Golden Buddha Aura Lotus through a small crack between the petals while standing in mid air. He was shocked!

Within the Golden Buddha Aura Lotus, there was a small purple creature that was one meter long. The three sharp horns on its head still seemed soft, and its body was a lustrous purple. Its eyes were tightly shut, it was a small calf just sound asleep.

It was a baby Thunderous Beast.

For that second, Qing Shui was elated. This was a priceless treasure. A baby Thunderous Beast that hasn't even opened its eyes. Such a thing was of little value to others, a Thunderous Beast required one thousand years to grow up, who had such luxury of time?

Thunderous Beasts appeared with Golden Buddha Aura Lotuses and couldn't leave it. It had to stay near the flower most of the time. They would only leave the flower for a maximum of three days.

Qing Shui figured out what had happened. Shortly after the baby Thunderous Beast was born, the old Thunderous Beast disappeared, perhaps due to some accident. Otherwise, this little thing wouldn't be able to stay inside the Golden Buddha Aura Lotus without being swallowed or killed by other demonic beasts.

After a thousand years, this small creature will become a powerful demonic beast. But how many people could wait for a thousand years? Qing Shui only needed five years…

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