Ancient Strengthening Technique Chapter 31: Limitations of the Spatial Realm

“In any case, it looks like I’m having barbequed White-Headed Inky Jade Condor for dinner tonight.”

After Qing Shui knew of the various enchantments and effects of the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, he couldn’t help but grin even in his sleep. Now, with him being the sovereign of a spatial realm, there was no need for him to carry a backpack any longer. And how could the storage rings in the legends even compare to this? No, they can’t even be mentioned in the same breath. Qing Shui could not help but to burst out into raucous laughter. That laugh seemed to consolidate all his anger, anxiety and worries that had been burdening his heart, and disperse them all together as gales of laughter that rang out.

From his now useless backpack, Qing Shui tooked out a knife, flint, salt, and a cup made out of porcelain, and after which, he search the surroundings of the mountains for dry, thin branches that could be used as firewood.

“Stare at your father, me, more, you stupid chicken, if looks could kill back then, I know that I would already be dead. Go on, don’t you like hovering in the air and staring at me? You stupid flying chicken, now I want you to look at me as I barbeque your chicken drumstick. After all, the tendons and muscles are thick without excessive fat, seems to be pretty good as a supplement and eating it should be able to provide nourishment for my own legs.” Qing Shui said vehemently, with a sardonic glint in his eyes, as he began to defeather and wash the poor condor.

Previously, a few days before, Qing Shui almost died of thirst. But now, suddenly, he had an abundance of water! Qing Shui took the water from the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. As he washed the carcass, he couldn’t help but feel that it was a waste. After all, the water from the crystal pond possessed mystical properties, but to use it to wash a carcass? He couldn’t help but to shake his head. Also, Qing Shui was unsure if the water used up would be replenished by the spatial realm and as such, he set a water marker to gauge the water level. From his observations, this pool should be able to contain 800,000 liters of water.

Qing Shui cut a large piece of flesh from the hind-leg of the giant condor, and began roasting it after he started a fire. This was the first time Qing Shui was doing the barbecuing personally. Previously, he had only observed members of the Qing Clan doing it. Now that he tried it for himself, Qing Shui could tell that it was not as easy as it looked to be!

The aftermath of his first experiment in cooking resulted in the meat being either being too charred to be eaten or too raw. Only after experimenting a few times could he successfully barbecue a piece of meat that could barely be considered edible…

Heedless to the dangers of eating uncooked meat, Qing Shui begin digging in with relish. After all, this was the first time he was roasting meat, Qing Shui ate the meal he prepared with gusto. After his hunger was satiated, he look at the carcass of the giant condor. The size of it was so gigantic, despite Qing Shui’s many experiments in cooking earlier, the reduction in mass was barely noticeable.

After which, Qing Shui decided to store the remains of the carcass in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal.

Qing Shui could not help but to exclaim again, “Ahh, this must be fate, who would have thought that the heavens are so good to me? The pendant which I randomly picked up was actually a heavenly treasure! Nothing in the world could make me happier, not even bedding a top grade ravishing beauty!” Although Qing Shui had not had his first taste of women yet, he was in no hurry. He knew that in this world, strength and power were the absolute authority. If one was strong enough, they could even forcibly snatch the woman away. Who would dare to contradict him then? Absolute power was what he sought after! In comparison, this treasured pendant, one did not know how much karmic merits they would have to accumulate over many lifetimes before they could obtain it!

As his thoughts drifted to the injury he received, he was reminded of the pendant which hung on his neck. “Damn, in the future whenever I get anything, I must drip my blood on it to test it. Who knows, that which appears torn and tattered, could be another heavenly treasure. If in the off-chance I miss anything, there is no point crying over spilt milk!”

After that battle with the giant condor, and discovery of the spatial realm, followed by the cooking of the carcass, the sun was already setting. The resplendent rays of light shined upon the whole region, dying the mountains with a golden glow. Especially for a few mountain peaks, the golden resplendent rays of light shining on them actually made them emit a sort of majestic presence, akin to that of Golden Buddha statues.

The current Qing Shui had never been so excited before in his life. His current state could only be described as something similar to the “second stage of enlightenment taught by Buddha himself – seeing mountain as not a mountain, seeing river as not a river.” [1] Even if there was a pile of dog sh*t in front of him, he could also be certain that it would be able to germinate good crops from there.

“Forget it, I shall go and cultivate inside the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. Hahaha! A time ratio of 100:1, I must abuse it to the maximum!” Qing Shui teleported to inside the spatial realm with a mere intention of his will. Now that he was calmer, he discovered that the air here was saturated with an abundance of thick spiritual energy, even more so than the world outside!”

Qing Shui sat down cross-legged, entering into the state of meditation and activated the Ancient Strengthening Technique emanating an air of profoundness.

1 Cycle of Qi Circulation, 2 Cycle of Qi Circulation…….

The past 5 years, Qing Shui manage to cultivate from 36 cycles of circulation to 48 cycles currently. This time when he activated the Ancient Strengthening Technique, it came as no surprise that he peaked at 48 cycles. More haste less speed, Qing Shui was not anxious. After all, Qing Shui had only recently broken through to 48 cycles. He did not want to rush and as a result suffer from Qi Deviation.

As the time passed, Qing Shui cultivated slowly without haste, whenever he was tired, he took a break. Whenever he was thirsty, he drank some water. He went on like this, relentlessly practicing his cultivation with a will like a madman, also training his Ghostly Steps, Solitary Rapid Fist, and the art of hidden weapon techniques continuously. Qing Shui also had completely read all 3 of the medical books which he brought along with him. After all, with a time ratio of 100:1, he wanted to abuse this effect to the maximum, if not it would be a waste.

Cultivating in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, Qing Shui was uncertain of how many days had passed inside it. All he knew was that the earlier barbecued meat had already been finished by him. Now, he was subsisting on water and the dried rations which he had bought from the Qing Clan.

After getting frustrated chewing on the dried rations, Qing Shui decided to exit the spatial realm in preparation for roasting some meat again. This time round, after so many failed experiments, Qing Shui could finally roast something that was edible, and Qing Shui also discovered another effect of the spatial realm. Apparently, food in there would remain fresh with no hints of decay! There was no change in the condition of the food and it would remain the same state as when it entered.

After Qing Shui was done roasting the meat, as he prepared to re-enter the spatial realm, he suddenly stopped and appeared dumbstruck! For some reason, he discovered that he could not enter the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal!

“Huh why am I barred from entering?” Qing Shui refused to believe it, and persisted in trying to enter… Looking at the skies, Qing Shui deduced that about 2 hours must have passed, and in these past 2 hours he must have tried entering it over a 1000 times! He had no choice but to conclude that there seemed to be some sort of limitation and rules set to entering the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal.

Every 2 hours spent outside the spatial realm, was equivalent roughly to 16 days inside it. During the time when he was drinking water from the crystal pond, Qing Shui had already noticed the speck of violet-colored pearl situated right in the middle of his brows! The moment he saw it, Qing Shui already knew that this was a mini version of the pendant which had always hung on his neck.

Looking at his current features, Qing Shui could not help but to slightly frown. He could be considered relatively good looking with exquisite features. “Damn, I must be more masculine, if not people would mistake me for a sissy. Wuwu, nevermind, after second thoughts, in the future if I ever run into a desperate situation, I could depend on this handsome mug of mine to beg for meals.” Qing Shui was trying to find humor in a desperate situation.

“Argh I don’t have time to joke.” Trepidation filling his heart, Qing Shui persisted in trying again and again to enter the spatial realm, but to no avail. Rivulets of sweat appeared after the repeated failures made him immeasurably frustrated.

“F*** this shit, please stop pranking your father, damn it, If I can’t go in again, I might just as well jump down the mountain” Qing Shui desperately cussed, only when there were no people would he allow himself to lose control like that, with profanities spewing from his lips.

After the sun setted and the skies were dark, Qing Shui was still trying to enter the spatial realm. Qing Shui persisted in trying to enter every hour. Unknowingly, it was already approaching midnight, arriving at the Zi period*. TL Note: Zi period – the time between 11 pm and 1 am.

Tonight, the moon was full, silvery white light cascading down, softly illuminating the mountain. What a pity Qing Shui was not in the mood to appreciate the fine scenery. He was already going crazy with anxiety, occasionally extending his hand to feel the jade pendant embedded between his brows, heaving a sigh of relief every time he discovered that it was still there.

For the next hour, Qing Shui persisted in trying to enter the spatial realm again and again, but… he was still unable to gain entry. No matter what he did, he was unable to calm his fretful heart down!

After the Zi period had passed, Qing Shui tried again. To his surprise, he finally managed to succeed! The instant when he had entered the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal almost made tears came out of his eyes… He finally succeeded after countless hours of trying.

“Exit!”

“Enter!”

“Exit!”

“Enter!”

……………………..

As if he was trying to make up for the all the times which he failed to enter previously, Qing Shui experimented again and again.

After a few days, Qing Shui finally discovered the reason! The longest period that the spatial realm allowed the user to stay in, was a period of about 15-16 days, equivalent to 2 hours in the outside world. Every night, after the Zi period has passed, the whole cycle would reset, and the user would be able to spend another 16 days inside the spatial realm.

“Why did the Violet Jade Immortal not inscribed this rule on the stone monument, freaking causing me to worry for nothing.” After Qing Shui discovered the limitations of using the spatial realm, he became much more relaxed. In these few days, the profanities which he spewed, were even more than what he had said in his entire lifetime!

In the next few days, Qing Shui would always stay in the spatial realm before he was forcefully ejected. 2 hours on the outside was equivalent to 16 days in the spatial realm! Making use of this effect, Qing Shui took the chance to completely read and memorize all the contents of the 3 medical books which he had brought. After undergoing his body transformation and acquiring the Yin-Yang symbol in his sea of consciousness, Qing Shui discovered that his memorization power and comprehension level had already reached a terrifying stage..

“<>, it’s about time I read this.”

[1] 2nd stage of Buddha Enlightenment – Scroll down to the 2nd commentator. It’s freaking profound, I can’t even understand a single sh*t lol

Apparently there are 3 stages to this.

a) see mountain as mountain, see river as river

b) see mountain as not a mountain, see river as not a river

c) so the mountain was still a mountain, the river was still a river

TL Note: The previous Chapter, the author stated the time ratio was [100:1], but in this chapter, the author states that 2 hours in the outside world is equivalent to 15-16 days in the spatial realm. After some calculations if 2 hours = 16 days, the exact ratio should be [192:1]. I’m too lazy to do the calculations for 2 hours = 15 days lol. Not too sure if the author made a mistake in this.. well, for now just enjoy the story first, i will edit in the future after reading the raws.