The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 989 - Black Tortoise Formation, Sacred Land of Panacea, Greencloud Mountain, Trouble Comes Knocking

Qing Shui called back and withdrew his three demonic beasts, feeling extremely satisfied. The prowess of the Four Phases Formation was clear for all to see, and it was more suited for him than the Five Elements Minor Formation. He had never expected that he would be able to set up a formation with his demonic beasts.

Formations were a powerful existence in the World of the Nine Continents. It was said that there were slightly more sects in the other four continents who knew about formations and not as many in these five continents. The Sky Prison Sect only knew the basics of formations.

It seemed that he would need to increase Qing Clan's mastery of the Nine Palace Steps and Nine Palace Eight Trigrams positionings. He would have to teach them the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation as well. However, this formation was too complicated and required one to be thorough in their thinking. It required those who could think out of the box. It would be hard for the children to pick this up. Qing Shui didn't wish to cause them to lose confidence in their ability to master formations.

Therefore, the children would first learn the One Origin Steps and Duality Steps. They would slowly progress from there and start to gain a better understanding of formations first and then pick up the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation and the Four Phases Formation. Qing Shui even taught them some simple calculations of the Nine Palace.

The Four Phases Formation was not difficult if one excelled in the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation and the Nine Palace Steps. Otherwise, it would basically be impossible to set up the Four Phases Formation. Therefore, this formation was simple to Qing Shui but extremely hard to others.

With this situation, demonic beasts which Qing Shui could communicate with telepathically were a better choice than humans. This was because demonic beasts had extremely powerful senses and it was much better to be communicating via their consciousness as compared to verbal communication. It allowed them to quickly perform accurately as requested.

Of course, Qing Shui could also get other people to come together and set up the Four Phases Formation. However, he would still need to give them instructions and this could cause the formation to lose its effect anytime, unlike when he teamed up with his demonic beasts. After all, Qing Shui had worked together with his demonic beasts for a very long period of time.

The Four Phases Formation was more suited for demonic beasts to begin with and this made Qing Shui feel more confident. He hoped that Luan Luan would buck up. This daughter of his was very clever and he hoped that she could gain great progress in her cultivation through formations.

Qing Shui looked towards the other formation, Ten Paramitas Formation!

The Ten Paramitas Formation was also known as the Black Tortoise Formation. After taking a look at this formation, Qing Shui had an urge to cast it aside. This formation needed at least ten people and its only effect was its great defensive powers.

It was a very simple formation and the more people there were, the stronger the defense.The defense also included protection against spirit energy. This formation only increased their defenses and nothing else.

Qing Shui took a look at it and saw that it was relatively simple. The positionings were also very simple and there weren't many rigid requirements. The users just needed to be within the area of the formation. As long as the eye of formation was around and there were at least ten people around when the formation was activated, then it was fine.

Qing Shui decided to give it a go in the future. In a fight, it would be good for them to be able to withstand hits. However, this formation required ten people and was less flexible. It would be good for big sects and aristocratic clans who had a large number of people. At least, it would increase their defenses by a lot, thereby making them stronger. Most importantly, the greater the number of people, the stronger the defense. It was said that if one were to gain the greatest level of mastery in this formation, Black Tortoise (Xuanwu) would appear, providing an inestimable level of defense.

When Qing Shui returned to Qing Clan, it was already noon and he was just in time for lunch. Qing Yu stayed in Qing Shui's arms, and thus he had to feed her. The lass was still considered docile.

The big family sat around a long table for the meal and it was a very happy and heartwarming scene. Smiles were on everyone's faces.

Not long after lunch, Qing Shui sensed the appearance of a very powerful person with his spiritual sense. Qing Shui didn't have to guess to know who that person was.

In Greencloud Continent, the only person who had a strength of 4,000 stars or above was Ji Yunlang.

Qing Shui was puzzled at why he had come. However, he still quickly headed out and saw the flying beast stopping in the distance. With a few consecutive flashes, he appeared less than 20 meters away from Ji Yunlang.

When Ji Yunlang saw Qing Shui's speed, he was astonished. Qing Shui walked over. That huge yellow bird remained very quiet.

"Elder Brother, why aren't you coming in?" Qing Shui smiled and asked. He knew that there must be a reason that Ji Yunlang was here. Otherwise, he wouldn't come.

"Brother, I've met some problems," Ji Yunlang said bitterly.

"Is it something urgent? If it isn't, then let's go to my place before we talk about it. If it's very urgent, let's head over immediately." Although Qing Shui didn't know what the matter was, this time around, he would definitely help him. Putting aside the fact that they're addressing each other as brothers, in a relationship, there must always be one party to take the first step forward. Moreover, if Qing Clan were to leave in a short one to two, or even three years later, Qing Clan would need someone to help back them up in times of trouble. For this, General Manor was the best choice.

"There's still a few days time. Let's go down and talk about it then." Despite saying this, Ji Yunlang was still frowning. Qing Shui was astonished and wondered what would cause him to feel so troubled.

Qing Shui didn't pay it much heed, but smiled and said, "Brother, there's no need to worry. No matter what the trouble is, I'll get it settled for you."

When Ji Yunlang saw Qing Shui's great confidence, he also started to calm down. After arriving at Qing Clan, Qing Shui introduced Ji Yunlang to the others before walking into the hall. Someone sent up tea.

Qing Shui poured two cups of tea before looking at Ji Yunlang and asked, "What on earth could make Elder Brother so nervous?"

"Do you know of Greencloud Continent's Greencloud Mountain?" Ji Yunlang looked at Qing Shui and asked.

Qing Shui shook his head.

"Greencloud Mountain is a spiritual mountain in Greencloud Continent. It's just that there is an inhibition to it and it would only open once every 300 years. Greencloud Mountain is the sacred land for spiritual medicinal herbs in Greencloud Mountain and is the root of all Guardian Clans." Ji Yunlang looked at Qing Shui and said gradually.

Qing Shui hadn't expected that there would be such a place. It seemed that every continent in each of the nine continents would have a place like this. Those Guardian Clans not only guarded the continent they were in, but they also guarded over this treasured land. This treasured land should also be the secret legacy of these Guardian Clans.

"Elder Brother, is it time for Greencloud Mountain's inhibition to be raised again? Is someone trying to snatch it?" Qing Shui felt that this was the case. Otherwise, Ji Yunlang wouldn't have come to look for him.

"The two Guardian Clans from Northern Sacred Lu Continent had already arrived at Greencloud Mountain. They are having ideas on Greencloud Mountain." Ji Yunlang looked at Qing Shui helplessly and said.

"Two Guardian Clans?" Although Qing Shui knew that there might not be just one Guardian Clan in each continent but General Manor was the only one left in Greencloud Continent. However, he hadn't expected that two Guardian Clans from Northern Sacred Lu Continent would come at the same time.

"Mmm, and they are stronger than I am. There's quite a number of them. I don't know how many Guardian Clans there are in Northern Sacred Lu Continent, but there should be at least eight of them. The circumstances there are extremely bad, but their physiques are extremely good and they even have some domineering spiritual items, spiritual fruits, and spiritual herbs of the Heaven and Earth. This is why Northern Sacred Lu Continent wouldn't lose out even to Central Continent." Ji Yunlang took a sip of tea.

"How long is there before Greencloud Mountain's inhibition is raised?" Qing Shui gave it some thought before he smiled and asked.

"Brother, I'm only here to have a discussion with you because I don't want to Greencloud Mountain to land in the hands of outsiders. I feel that you're very powerful, but you also have a big clan to take care of," Ji Yunlang looked at Qing Shui and said solemnly.

Qing Shui smiled. At least, this old man was very sincere. Although this old man was a shrewd person, Qing Shui could still sense if what the other party had said was sincere using his spiritual sense.

"Elder Brother, don't worry. I can deal with this. Tell me where Greencloud Mountain is and how much time we have. I can make preparations earlier." Qing Shui smiled and said to Ji Yunlang.

"There's still 20 days. Greencloud Mountain is in the central of General Country."

It wasn't that far and there was still plenty of time. Qing Shui lifted his head, gave it some thought, and said, "No one will be able to break the inhibitions within these 20 days, right?"

"No, this will definitely not happen. It will only be opened on that day, and it'll only open for one day," Ji Yunlang said firmly.

"Then that's good. I'll meet up with Elder Brother before that. They wouldn't find trouble for you in these few days, right?"

"They won't. As long as I don't stop them, they won't come looking for trouble." Ji Yunlang shook his head and his frown lightened a little.

"Then that's good. Elder Brother shouldn't go and look for them either. Let's go visit them together one day or several days before the day that the mountain opens." Qing Shui really wanted to find someone to have a good fight with at the moment.

"Mmm, good. I know that there are people who have a strength of 4,800 stars amongst them. Brother, you must be careful."

"Oh, Elder Brother knows about these two Guardian Clans?" Qing Shui had initially thought that there wasn't a need to understand them, but after giving it some thought, he decided that he shouldn't take his opponents too lightly.

"Only a little. They are the Northern Sacred Lu Continent's Beiming Clan and Wan Clan. It's said that they each have three or more cultivators who have a strength of over 4,000 stars." When Ji Yunlang said this, he felt a strong sense of setback.

Qing Shui knew that it must not have been easy for Ji Yunlang to be holding such great responsibilities. Furthermore, the Greencloud Mountain should be very important for the Guardian Clan's legacy. Without Greencloud Mountain, General Manor would probably also disappear like how the other Guardian Clans had.

"Don't worry. it'll be fine." Qing Shui smiled and once again reassured Ji Yunlang.

"Then I'll be relying on you. From now onwards, Greencloud Mountain will belong to both General Manor and Qing Clan." Ji Yunlang made it very clear.

"Elder Brother, this is General Manor's..."

"If you can help to assure that Greencloud Mountain stays at it is, General Manor will be the one who has gotten a good deal. If we lose it, we'll have nothing left."

Qing Shui nodded. Ji Yunlang was able to think through everything and Qing Shui also understood where he was coming from. It was just that he had only offered to help out and hadn't planned on gaining any benefits. It was because in the future, he might still need help from General Manor.

However, since Ji Yunlang could accept this, it wasn't bad either. One must be truthful in order to make friends and no matter what, Qing Shui was still very satisfied. When the time comes, he wanted to have a look at how extraordinary this spiritual mountain was.

"Brother, if you really have the confidence, then let everyone from your clan come along. Even if one just stood there for a day, it would still be equivalent to one year of cultivation. There are plenty of heavenly and earthly treasures as well as rare beasts inside. It's just that those without a strong cultivation shouldn't go too deep inside and should just stay to cultivate outside. It'll allow their cultivation to be raised quickly. It's really amazing," Ji Yunlang gave it some thought and said.

This made Qing Shui very stunned. It was really something good. Too bad it was only opened for one day every 300 years. Since there was such a good thing, of course, he would need to make good use of it. "Thanks for letting me know, Elder Brother."

Ji Yunlang waved his hand, "Brother, I'll get angry if you continue to stand on ceremony like this."

"Alright. In the future, neither of us should stand on ceremony with each other. We're all family," Qing Shui smiled and said.

"Alright, come, let's have a toast, using tea in place of wine."

...

Ji Yunlang left. Qing Shui couldn't calm down. After all, the two clans were the Guardian Clans from Northern Sacred Lu Continent. Even if he didn't kill them and only forced them away, it would also create resentment from the other Guardian Clans. There was no other choice. Greencloud Continent was weak in comparison and people tend to pick on the weakest.

When he thought of Lion King's Ridge, Qing Shui felt that it didn't matter anymore. If he didn't guess wrongly, Lion King's Ridge should also be one of the Guardian Clans. Since he would have to eradicate Lion King's Ridge sooner or later, he didn't mind offending two more Guardian Clans.

TL NOTE:

Xuanwu is one of the four saint beasts of Chinese mythology.

East Azure Dragon, West White Tiger, South Vermillion Bird, Northern Xuanwu (Jet Tortoise / Black Tortoise: its a tortoise with snakes for its tail)

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