Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 943 – Encounter, Hurting One’s Soul Is To Hurt One’s Spirit

Qing Shui waved towards Chi Feng and the old man, Chi Ao. The two strode into the air and landed on the Fire Bird’s back as a high pitch bird’s cry rang out. They looked toward the three waving figures growing increasingly smaller until they totally disappeared.

After not seeing each other for a night, Yu He felt that something about Qing Shui had changed. She didn’t know how to describe it, but she could feel something was different even when he was only standing beside her.

Qing Shui was astonished at a woman’s senses when he saw how Yu He stared at him. He smiled and looked at her. His gaze at this moment was very straightforward, unlike how it had appeared in the past, as if he was holding onto some burden.

The Fire Bird entered a barren land. This was the barren land between the Eastern Victory Divine Continent and the Central Continent. They would need to spend quite a long period of time cross this place.

Nine Continents Steps!

Nine Continents Steps!

Qing Shui used two Nine Continents Steps in a row. However, they couldn’t reach any cities and it was just barren land. This was already the ninth day they had been in this stretch of land and right now, the skies were starting to turn dark.

This was considered the central area in this barren land. Basically, they could come into danger at any time. The two of them held onto each other. Although they weren’t lovers, they hugged each other tightly.

Qing Shui had let himself loose, at least, more so than before. Right now, he wasn’t as restrained or ashamed compared to when he had hugged Yu He in the past. The relationship between a man and a woman was one that came deep from their hearts and since they loved each other, he didn’t wish to overthink things.

“Sister Yu, do I have good fortune?” Qing Shui smiled and hugged Yu He.

He wasn’t nervous now, but was still a little uneasy. Although the two of them appeared to be very close during the journey, they did nothing more than hugging and could only be said to be bosom friends.

Yu He’s body trembled slightly and she lifted her head a bit, looking at Qing Shui’s elegant and handsome face. It now seemed to be more mature than before, without the childish feel he had in the past. His eyes were dark and deep, but yet still as clear as before.

The corner of Yu He’s lips curled up, but she didn’t say a word. However, her smile said everything. Moreover, Qing Shui was no idiot. It would be easy for her to get a guy if she wished to do so and she could find one that could fulfill any conditions she might have. However, she remained single to date and no matter how much he couldn’t understand of what she was thinking, it would be impossible for him to overlook all this. Otherwise, what would Yu He think of him?

“I don’t want you to say this for other reasons. If you don’t have me in your heart, Sister Yu is willing to continue on like this alone.” Yu He lifted her head and looked at him, blushing.

“There’s no love which has neither rhyme nor reason. No matter what the reason is, love is love.” Qing Shui smiled and looked at her.

“Then tell me, what do you like about me?” She looked hesitantly at Qing Shui.

“You’re beautiful!” Qing Shui smiled and said.

“This doesn’t count. I’ve seen the women around you. Don’t you use that on me.” Yu He chided.

“You’re very pretty. I like how foolish and stubborn you are. You have always been in my heart, always,” he looked at Yu He and said seriously.

Yu He looked into Qing Shui’s clear eyes and broke into a smile. She then suddenly landed a peck on his lips before she pushed him away and landed on the ground. “I’m hungry, let’s make something to eat!” Yu He’s voice rang out.

At that moment, Qing Shui felt the softness on his lips. It made him tremble. He then followed after Yu He. There were no mountains in the area, but there was a stretch of towering ancient forest which was very dark and which occasionally exuded the presence of wild beasts.

“Mmm, there’s someone around!”

Qing Shui looked towards Yu He and realized that she was also straining toward the same direction. It was in the ancient forest not far away.

“Eldest Brother, we’ve finally exit this wretched forest. We can’t even find a woman in this wilderness.” A bright voice rang out.

“3rd Brother, this place is very dangerous. Be on your guard. Don’t always be thinking about women. One day, you’ll find yourself dead in a woman’s arms.” A deep and powerful voice rang out.

“3rd Brother has been trying hard to hold it in for so many days. Eldest Brother had forbidden him to bring any women along when we came and he hasn’t touched a woman for an entire month.”

“It’s really rare to see this. If we were in Sky City, 3rd Brother will definitely not be able to resist touching a woman for more than three days. Humans are really creatures who are pushed to their limits.”

“Hahaha…”

A series of laughs rang out, but they stopped quickly. It was because they saw two people standing not far away from them. The moon was bright tonight and they could see their surroundings very clearly.

Yu He furrowed her brows. Qing Shui was still ok but he overheard something they said—Sky City. They must have came from Sky City.

There were five men in the lead, with over ten others that followed behind them. Since these people dared to cross this wilderness, they were naturally not weak. When the few of them saw Qing Shui and Yu He, they were not shocked, but looked at them happily.

“3rd Brother, to think that we can encounter such a beauty in this wilderness. Even I can’t hold it in anymore. They say a night when the moon is hung high up is a night well suited for murder. However, I don’t wish to kill tonight. It’s too dampening,” the thinnest man on the extreme right smiled and said.

“5th Brother, don’t be reckless. If we’re not careful, all of us might be in danger,” a middle-aged man on the left bellowed.

“Eldest Brother, they’re are so young. How strong could they be?”

“Hmmm, isn’t that guy like the person who trampled our Octagon Inn?” A man on the left who had not spoken till now suddenly said.

“Hmmm, he looks very similar to the portrait. Since we’ve encounter him here, it means that he should be the same person. We’ll see where he can run off to this time around. Grab him! We’ll bring him back and let our Sovereign and the others deal with him.”

“Let’s not alarm him. This fellow’s skill at escaping is the best. He’s very sneaky.” A bright voice came out from the 3rd guy from the left.

With one look, Qing Shui could tell that they had been ranked from the left to the right. What astonished him was that these people were from the Marionette Sect and should be the younger generation of those old guys from the Marionette Sect. They were probably the most elite ones too.

Qing Shui recalled how he had desperately escaped back then and then looked at their cultivation levels. If he was still at the same level as he was back then, he would probably still have to run.

However, right now, these people were nothing to him.

“Eldest Brother, it’s decided, this woman will be mine tonight.”

“We’ll talk after they are captured,” the low voice rang out.

“This lady is like a fairy. Count me in for tonight,” a short man spoke out as well.

“5th Brother, I’ll give you all of those from my home. Don’t fight with me for this,” the 3rd Brother anxiously said to the 5th Brother.

“You have the nerve to bring out those filthy and vulgar women? You can keep them for yourselves!”

“Don’t know what’s better for you!” Qing Shui saw that Yu He was frowning, wanting to take action and thus he bellowed out.

“You bastard. Let’s see how you plan on escaping today!” No one knew how Qing Shui had managed to escape the previous time but this time, they weren’t planning on letting him escape.

“Call out your marionettes. Otherwise, it’ll be too late for you to have regrets.” Qing Shui didn’t continue with the scuffle.

“Everyone attack together! Get him, dead or alive!” The man on the left waved and dashed out toward Qing Shui.

Qing Shui shook his head. Before him, these people were like children who were learning how to walk in front of an adult. Their gap was not just a little bit. They had been blinded by age and appearances.

Buddha’s True Eyes!

Qing Shui stared at a cultivator at the back with quite a strong aura. It was a Grade Three Martial Saint.

Pa!

A light sound rang out abruptly. It was a crisp sound akin to a porcelain object being smashed. Everyone couldn’t help but turn toward the place where the sound came from.

That person was not dead but he stood there, not moving.

“Old Ma, what’s wrong?!”

“Old Ma…”

The people around him pushed and shouted at him, but he had no reaction. They all suddenly felt a chill.

Qing Shui hadn’t expected the Buddha’s True Eyes to be so domineering. He knew that the guy’s soul had been hurt by his Buddha’s True Eyes.

Legend has it that the spirit is segregated into the ethereal and corporeal soul. There are three parts to the ethereal soul, namely the heavenly soul, the earthly soul and the destiny soul.

There are seven parts to the corporeal soul, namely the Tianchong (Heaven Rush), Linghui (Intelligence), Qi, Li (Strength), Zhongshu (Backbone), Jing (Essence) and Ying.

The three parts of the ethereal soul are also known as Tai Guang (Light of Foetus), Shuang Ling (Bright Spirit) and the You Jing (Quiet Spirit). The Tai Guang relates to the Yang energy and pertained to the heaven; the Shuang Ling represented the changes to the Yin energy and pertained to the five elements; while the You Jing represented the diversity to the Yin energy.

The Tai Guang relates to life and when it is in a body for a prolonged period of time, it could cause the person to feel refreshed and enjoy a long lifespan.

The You Jing relates to calamities and weaknesses. It causes one to indulge in lust and other secular desires, drowning in debauched morals and depletes one’s essence. It causes a person to feel a lack of vigor, weakness to the kidneys and one’s internal organs and one’s meridian channels to be blocked.

In the three parts of the ethereal soul, the heavenly soul represented yang, the earthly soul represented Yin and the destiny soul represented Yang as well.

Once a person’s destiny soul was harmed, their life would be in danger.

The Buddha’s True Eyes directly inflicted harm on a person’s soul.

Qing Shui didn’t know if it was because of virtuous karma or that it had yet to reach a higher level, but the person who had been attacked would have damage on his earthly soul.

He hadn’t expected this to be so powerful either. Each time he had used the Buddha’s True Eyes, he would have to rest for a short moment. It was like accumulating power or could be said to ensure that there was a balance.

“Spirit attack!” The man in the lead suddenly shouted out.

Qing Shui hadn’t expected his opponent to be able to recognize his attack. He was also astonished by how powerful the Buddha’s True Eyes was, despite only being at the small success stage. However, this Grade Three Martial Saint didn’t seem to have any resistance to it at all.

He thought of his Roc’s Might. The saying that the Buddha’s True Eyes attacked one’s soul was not exactly accurate since it was just from the legends. Basically, it attacked one’s spirit energy, brain and Niwan Palace.

Legend has it that a person’s spirit was split into three immortality aspects (etheral) and seven mortal aspects (corporeal), which meant that the Buddha’s True Eyes was truly an attack to one’s spirit. A person’s soul is his spirit and injuring one’s soul would be inflicting harm on his spirit. Without the spirit, no matter how powerful one was, one could only be like a mountain and could be easily moved by others.

At this moment, Qing Shui seemed to have gained a new understanding on attacks with spirit energy. The Roc’s Might and Buddha’s True Eyes were both attacks on one’s spirit, just like how both the Taichi and the Back Connecting Fist were both fist techniques.

However, the degree of attacks would be different. The Roc’s Might would be domineering while the Buddha’s True Eyes was comparatively weaker. This was what Qing Shui felt. Right now, he had yet to master attacks on one’s spirits and needed to study more into it. After all, there weren’t many people who excelled in this area.

On the mention of attacks on one’s spirit, everyone was panic-stricken. Such attacks tended to catch people unaware and only those whose spirit energy were sufficiently powerful would be able to withstand the attack. Those whose spirit energy were too weak wouldn’t be able to do anything, even if they were to focus all their concentration to deal with the attacks.

TL Note: This chapter is extremely tough to translate hence the overreliance on chinese terms. We did our best and placed the closest translations in (brackets).