Chapter: 784 (1/2)
AST 784 – Turning Point, 64th Wave
Having reaped an unexpected result, Qing Shui felt that his power would have the chance to improve further in the future. Moreover, he had understood that he could resist the hypnotic effect on his mind, the dizziness, paralysis and poison effects under the state of Focused Concentration – much like the ability of the Nature Energy.
Qing Shui had never thought that he would be able to gain insight on a technique such as the Focused Concentration through the acquisition of the Nine-Headed Lion Grass. The Wave Essence had also gained a considerable amount of upgrades as well. Because of that, he was somewhat able to withstand the Wave Force by adjusting the strength of his Taichi to fuse with the Wave Essence. The ocean wave would slowly rise up like the shape of a boat that could swallow him into the tide but each time it happened, Qing Shui would still be standing there unharmed.
He had already put away his Big Dipper Sword. At that moment, he was trying to feel the thrusting force within the waves.
The formation of waves was caused by the energy passing through the water. Qing Shui was more or less trying drifting with the tide or in other words, letting the waves push him around as they pleased. The water was of the flexible nature. From what he had observed, he realized that the Taichi Fist had a similar concept – the force of the user would always match the strength of his opponent. Gradually, Qing Shui had familiarized himself with the behavior of the waves, which in turn had slightly changed the development in the realm of Taichi.
Today, he just went along with the waves while closing his eyes. He had an absolute expression of calmness on his face as he was shuttled back and forth by the waves. Qing Shui was unconcerned with the sea spray as the water hits the cliff walls. If the rough wave were to shove towards his direction, he would evade it without trying to face it head-on. There were other ways one could achieve their goals without the necessity of confronting these things forcefully.
At that moment, the gears inside his brain had turned faster. He was able to easily figure out some things that he would normally find quite difficult to comprehend. Even though he had gained a considerable amount of power in the past two days, he had also improved the adaptive capability of his body, which was an overall improvement to his strength as well.
The sudden change had Qing Shui excited. However, his main goal today was to cultivate his Wave Essence. So in the end, he would still need to clash himself with the strong waves. Now that he had grasped the quintessence of the Wave Essence, the progress of his cultivation had become smoother without much effort.
A day had passed just like that. He had learned a great deal today, and he was certainly satisfied. Having a breakthrough wasn’t the first thing in his mind – the journey towards a great future would always start with the first step. If he could persist through the continuous advancements, then there would be a greater hope for the next breakthrough.
Qing Shui decided that he would aim to break the wave with the sword tomorrow. When it was about time to enter the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, he quickly entered without hesitation.
This small mountain seemed to be a restricted area for the villagers. But since there was no one within the perimeter of ten li for the past two days, he continued to stay and cultivate his techniques. Moreover, this island was way above the sea level. It was an ideal position for him because the strong waves would crash to the back side of the mountain instead to the front.
After a period of exhausting cultivation, Qing Shui came out from the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. The moon in the sky was abnormally bright, accompanied by a sea of stars gleaming next to one another. He felt like he was dreaming as he stared at the beautiful sight, which he would never be able to see during his past life.
Qing Shui decided to go fishing next.
As he took out the Pure Gold Fishing Rod and threw the line to the sea, he made up his mind to fish during this hour for the remaining days in this island. Fishing was a perfect balance of movement as he was required to idle his bait for a few moments before he would reel the line to lure potential prey to the hook. Perhaps for the next few days, he might be able to hook up something special or something peculiar. Even though he could maintain a calm demeanor on the exterior, his heart would fidget with excitement, hoping to fish up something different than usual.
“It moved! That fast?” Qing Shui was shocked. The time to drink a cup of tea hadn’t even passed yet after he had sunk his line into the waters. He quickly reeled in his Pure Gold Fishing Rod to see what he had caught.
Golden Bull Grass…….
When he saw the Golden Bull Grass, he was stunned. He had caught a Nine-Headed Lion Grass last time and now he had caught another Golden Bull Grass despite already owning one. In fact, Qing Shui was elated to have caught another Golden Bull Grass. Having too much of a great item could never hurt. Moreover, he had only one Golden Bull Grass in his possession. With another one on his hand, he could use it as the seed and grow more of its kind.
The first attempt was an auspicious start. He also finally understood that this kind of Myriad-form Grass wasn’t an ordinary plant. It was more like a spiritual type between a beast and a plant that lived within the waters while floating through the sea. Even though it could not be compared to the herbal treasures that were usually found on the ground, it was still quite valuable in the market. Because of its rarity in amount, as well as the least used ingredient in most alchemy recipes, its value would be slightly lower than those of the herbal treasures.
And then he caught a lobster!
A lobster a foot long…..
Qing Shui took another closer look at the giant lobster – or whatever it was. He didn’t know what kind of species it was, so he decided he would call it as a ‘lobster’ for the time being. Qing Shui knew it couldn’t be compared to the normal prawns in the sea when he felt the lobster emitting a subtle Spiritual Qi around its body.
He threw it into the pond inside the Realm of the Violet Jade as an addition to his water species collection. That way, he was able to add a bit more liveliness to the realm as well.
Time passed by quickly as he continued fishing. When the sun had peeked through from the horizon in the east, he noticed that it was already morning.
He put away his Pure Gold Fishing Rod and started his daily morning exercise. The Back Connecting Fist had already reached the peak of the Large Success Stage. The technique was only a step away from a breakthrough but for now, it would still remain in the Large Success Stage level.
Today, he felt extraordinary when he performed the Sword of Fifth Wave again. He swung the Big Dipper Sword effortlessly as if it was his own arm. One could say that he might have fused his arm with the sword to become as one being.
Thump thump……
Qing Shui was knocked away once again. However, he was pleasantly surprised as he stared blankly at the sword in his hand. He didn’t experience a breakthrough – not yet but he was able to feel his power increasing a great amount. It was truly a miraculous feeling.
Perhaps it was partly due to the state of Focused Concentration but he knew it was also due to the concept of being able to perform the Sword of Fifth Wave with high-proficiency, in which he was able to perform the technique without room for error. He felt content and most importantly, he felt like he had become more adaptable towards the situation.
At the precise moment, he also felt a slight change psychologically, which had boosted his confidence as well.