The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 674 - Benefitting from a disaster, the powerful Yin-Yang Image

Qing Shui was really fired up. He had finally found some hope in surviving. It's only when one is at the brink of losing their life that they begin to appreciate it.

The Marrow Nibbling Worm which lost both of its eyes could only roll around and scream madly. Qing Shui constantly moved around it while continuously attacking it with his Primordial Flames.

The Marrow Nibbling Worm, which was as big as a small mountain, was unable to stand this level of burning. Slowly, it's screaming got softer and softer. It's movements had also begun to slow down significantly.

The enormous joy that Qing Shui felt was acting as his mental support to help him fight better and better. Furthermore, there was still the Yin-Yang Image which was continuously helping him to recover. Qing Shui who no longer had anything to worry about was finally able to go all out without holding back.

Pu-Tong!

The enormous Marrow Nibbling Worm finally collapsed. Qing Shui stood in the distance and let out a sigh of relief. If the Marrow Nibbling Worms here were to die, the Marrow Nibbling Worm inside his body would also suffer the same fate.

Suddenly, the Yin-Yang Image above the sky started giving off a faint light. Not only that, the light was getting brighter and brighter. After that, the Marrow Nibbling Worms on the ground similarly started glowing.

At this moment, the Yin-Yang Fish Image in the Yin-Yang Image looked extremely distinct, sparkling and translucent. It was shining on the bodies of the Marrow Nibbling Worms on the ground with a faint greyish light. Slowly, the Marrow Nibbling Worm began to shrink while the Yin-Yang Image got brighter and brighter. Simultaneously, the energy that Qing Shui emitted had also begun to become stronger and stronger.

Qing Shui was really fired up. The Yin-Yang Image had indeed gotten really strong. If the person who was bitten by a Marrow Nibbling Worm had been an ordinary person, he would have died a long time ago if he didn't take in the Golden Buddha Aura Lotus. No matter how strong Qing Shui's body or his recovery ability was, he wouldn't be able to stand the Marrow Nibbling Worm's attacks. During that time, the Yin-Yang Image played an indispensable role in maintaining Qing Shui's sanity. It was also because of the Yin-Yang Image that Qing Shui managed to maintain control over himself.

The instant the Marrow Nibbling Worm disappeared, the Yin-Yang Image emitted a dazzling light. The simple yet magnanimous light was filled full of an unknown and mysterious strength. At the same time, Qing Shui felt really relaxed. He felt as if his exhausted body was recovering at an incredible speed.

Mysterious yet powerful!

Qing Shui felt that the Yin-Yang Image had gotten a few times stronger. He assumed that it had probably ascended by another grade. But he was uncertain about what level it's in at the moment. Qing Shui felt really happy. If he was to combine it with his body, that already possessed terrifying recovery ability, he felt that he would be like a tireless machine that could work for eternity. The rate at which damage was caused to his body was almost on par with his recovery ability.

The current Yin-Yang Image was one third bigger than the previous ones. It also looked a lot more solid compared to before. Even the Yin-Yang Fish Image on top of it looked as if it had gotten more distinct and magnanimous.

Just like the saying "One who survives a great disaster is destined to good fortune for ever". Qing Shui never thought that he would eliminate the Marrow Nibbling Worm in such a way. Killing the consciousness of his enemy within his own consciousness. When the body died, the spirit would disappear. Similarly, when the spirit died, its body would also disappear. The one that Qing Shui killed in his Sea of Consciousness was the spirit of the g Marrow Nibbling Worm.

Everyone possessed a "spirit". They all have their own consciousness. It's not an unusual thing. To be more precise, it meant that the soul of somebody was something which controlled one's body. It existed within one's brains and had control of every single part of the body. The people in vegetative states from his previous incarnations were cases of people losing their "spirit". Or rather, their "spirit" had become so weak that it was no longer able to control their body.

At the moment, the Marrow Nibbling Worm residing in Qing Shui's body were nothing but worthless worms. They had already fallen into a dormant state. The only thing left for Qing Shui to do would be to think of a way to force it out. This would be an easy task, after all, it's just dead worms that he was facing.

This time, not only did he survive, his Spirit Energy had also become a lot stronger. Since that happened, his Primordial Flames, Hidden Weapons and other techniques would be able to make yet more huge leaps. Since Qing Shui was no longer worried about losing his life, he felt a lot more relieved.

Spirit energy was something that's quite difficult to upgrad. In any case, Qing Shui was considered to have benefitted from a disaster. He got to significantly improve his Spirit energy. That's all he knew. As for other details, Qing Shui wasn't really certain about them. On the whole, Qing Shui assumed that the Yin-Yang Image should have most likely ascended up another level. The increase in his Spirit energy should be one of the effects of it.

Di Chen felt Qing Shui's changes from the outside. Not long ago, his body was still continuously shivering. The corner of his mouth was constantly overflowing with fresh blood. Qing Shui didn't really go through many changes within his consciousness. But from the outside, he was constantly vomiting blood. His entire body was already dyed red by his own blood.

Di Chen felt really heart-broken. She was helpless facing this kind of situation. But slowly, she noticed that Qing Shui's condition getting better and better. He stopped vomiting out blood, even his face had begun to look more and more peaceful. She even noticed a faint smile and joy on Qing Shui's face.

At this moment, Qing Shui opened up both of his eyes. Soon after, he started drawing signs with his hands.

Tai!

A small hole appeared at a spot between Qing Shui's eyebrows. A worm the size of a thumb was forced out of the hole. Without further delay, he immediately grabbed it with his hand. This tiny worm wasn't stained with any of his blood despite it flowing through his vessels.

"It's out! You recovered!" Di Chen couldn't believe what she saw. She grabbed Qing Shui's hand and said in surprise.

This was the first time Qing Shui saw Di Chen that surprised. He felt a sense of warmth in his heart. She was happy because he recovered. What else could he ask for when he already had such a good wife?

"Yeah! I'm good!" Qing Shui looked at Di Chen with a smile. Suddenly, he felt as if the dark clouds in the sky had disappeared.

He kept the Jade Emperor Bee in the realm, leaving only the Fire Bird outside. After that, he rode on it along with Di Chen and headed towards Di Clan. Di Chen held Qing Shui's arm with eyes filled with tears of joy. The smile on her face didn't disappear.

Qing Shui went to take a bath while Di Chen passed on the good news with everyone. After all, a lot of people were really concerned about it.

While showering, Qing Shui constantly thought about the Yin-Yang Image. He was still surprised by the fact that the Yin-Yang Image was the one to refine the Marrow Nibbling Worm. Qing Shui assumed that the Yin-Yang Image might not be strong enough to refine the healthy Marrow Nibbling Worm. That was why it waited until when the Marrow Nibbling Worm was at the brink of death to refine it.

Qing Shui came up with a thought. If the Marrow Nibbling Worm was to drill its way into his brain again, with the current Yin-Yang Image, it should more or less be able to stop it even if it was unable to refine the worm. At least he wouldn't have to be worried about his life. Furthermore, he also possessed the powerful ability to self-recover. Even though it wasn't comparable to the Golden Buddha Aura Lotus, it was still able to help him keep his life safe. It's just that he would have to suffer things that far exceeded what an ordinary human could handle.

He felt extremely comfortable after taking a shower.

Qing Shui walked out and noticed that there were a lot of people in the living room. Almost everyone was there. For a moment, they all looked really concerned when they saw Qing Shui. After finding out that he had recovered, everyone felt really happy. Unknowingly, Qing Shui had become a pillar of support to this place.

"Qing Shui, you have really recovered." Di Qing stood in front of Qing Shui and looked at him seriously. The misty and bewildering eyes of hers were less than a third of a meter away from Qing Shui. She looked so pretty that Qing Shui wanted to avoid it.

There was a fresh yet seducing air from her mouth, which felt particularly good. He smiled and nodded: "Thanks for your concern. Don't worry, I'm not going to die."

A joyful smile appeared on Di Qing's beautiful face: "I'm not worried about you. The good will always be short-lived while the bad will be able to live a thousand years. You're a bad person."

Since Qing Shui recovered, Di Qing once again had the mood to joke around. After Lady Duanmu had a conversation with Qing Shui, she stood up and was about to say her goodbyes. Previously, she had been quite worried about him.

As soon as he heard Lady Duanmu leaving, Qing Shui felt really empty: "Why don't you go tomorrow. Let's gather around for today."

Qing Shui didn't really mean it when he said that. There wasn't much meaning to it. However, Lady Duanmu was obviously shaken up by what he said. But as soon as she saw Qing Shui's clear eyes and his serious expression, she shook her head and smiled: "Lingshuang is worried about me, it's time for me to go back."

"I'll accompany you!" Qing Shui knew that no one would be able to change Lady Duanmu's mind once she has decided on something.

This time, Lady Duanmu didn't reject Qing Shui's request. She nodded her head.

The group saw her off outside the house. Both Qing Shui and Lady Duanmu mounted the enormous Ice Crane and said their goodbyes to everyone.

Both Qing Shui and Lady Duanmu stood on the back of the Ice Crane and flew ahead at an even speed. Ever since that incident, despite both's their efforts to remain calm and pretend like nothing happened, they still felt really awkward deep in their hearts.

"Sorry to have made you worry!" Qing Shui said gently.

Lady Duanmu looked from afar and didn't say anything. During the process of it, she turned back and looked at Qing Shui with a complicated look.

"You couldn't forget about it?" Qing Shui asked gently after stopping for a while.

"You are the one who's unable to forget about it."

"Yeah, you're right, I can't."

"You……"

Lady Duanmu turned back and stopped saying anything. She instantly blushed. It might be because of Qing Shui's near death incident that made her looked over it.

"Lady Duanmu, if you……"

"Qing Shui, stop saying anything. I won't think about any other things for now. I know what you want to say but it's not the time for it, I can't do it." Lady Duanmu interrupted Qing Shui. She tried to avoid Qing Shui's eyes in a very unnatural way.

Whenever she saw Qing Shui, she would think about the things that happened that day. One whole night.. For one whole night, she wrapped around a guy like a fool. That scar was craved really deeply within her heart. It's not something which could be so easily forgotten.

There was no men who dared to get near her for twenty years… Twenty years of solitariness, it's already really firm. The walls that she herself said would never collapse had actually been punctured that night. Despite all her attempts to fix it, it was futile. The more she thought of fixing it, the more it would collapse.

"Alright, alright, I'll just listen to you. But one thing, do not ever think of not seeing me again. If anything happens, you must look for me. We're friends. In any case… Good friends… And also, allow me to come see you in the future." Qing Shui responded after thinking for a while.

Lady Duanmu smiled and nodded. However, not knowing if it was because of the "alright, alright" that he said previously, her heart beat faster and she blushed. She grudgingly looked at Qing Shui and noticed that he was actually quite naughty.

"You don't have to see me off any further, go back!"

After the Ice Crane flew quite a distance, Lady Duanmu said gently.

"I'll see you off a little while longer. I'll feel more relieved after you pass this area." This part of the area which she has to go through along her journey was quite chaotic. Nevertheless, Lady Duanmu's strength was something which very few would dare to challenge.

Hence, Qing Shui's words made Lady Duanmu laugh: "What're you worried about? Could it be that there are formidable demonic beasts around here?"

"I'm afraid that you will be kidnapped by bandits. If that happens, how am I going to find you?" Qing Shui chuckled.

"Alright, go back, be obedient!" Lady Duanmu said gently.

Her gentle voice stunned Qing Shui. Qing Shui felt really unusual deep in his heart. He felt really warm and a kind of sweetness which he was unable to describe. He had a feeling that he was talking to a lover as well as an elder sister.

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