Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 211 The Perverse Mysterious Gemstone

“Today, I will bring you guys to the Southern Ancient Pass. That place was the foundation of all the major clans and families, and is also the most prosperous region around here.”

Hearing Canghai Mingyue’s words, Qing Shui could not help but reveal his yearning face.

“Southern Ancient Pass?” The reason why Qing Shui was full of desire was because he heard that it was where most of the major clans and families were situated. He wanted to see the overall abilities and levels of these people in the Continent’s Capital.

The three of them walked out of Canghai’s residence alongside each other. Once they stepped out, Huoyun Liu-Li moved to walk on Canghai Mingyue’s left side, leaving her to stand in the middle.

Qing Shui saw Huoyun Liu-Li’s actions and felt that she was avoiding him on purpose. Qing Shui tended to be more passive in relationships. He was only more proactive with Shi Qingzhuang and Mingyue Gelou because he was driven by responsibilities and was very much willing to take on those responsibilities. Therefore, Qing Shui knew that he was in love with Shi Qingzhuang and Mingyue Gelou, regardless of any other factors.

However with Huoyun Liu-Li, he realized that it was harder for him to be proactive. While he knew that Huoyun Liu-Li really did like him, he did not wish to be currently interested in building relationships with other women. Therefore, even if Qing Shui had wishful thoughts and delusions, he would still not be active in involving himself with others.

More often than not, Qing Shui let nature take its course. He neither forced something to happen nor placed restrictions. Qing Shui felt that it was hard not to control himself.

On the road, Canghai Mingyue seemed to be full of smiles as if she were a flower exuding a majestic beauty similar to that of the mountains. Each time Qing Shui saw this, he would always wonder how could a woman be so beautiful.

Canghai Mingyue’s overwhelming aura had no tie to her level of cultivation, but it was an aura she had from the start. It was an prideful aura, reflecting her strong self-esteem, but not her arrogance. It gave others the feeling that she was standing of a high and unattainable spot that was out of their reach. The pair of black, profound, and beautiful eyes had an intoxicating charm, causing one to sway together with her emotions. At the same time, it also exuded an indifference which kept others away.

Between her walks, her long and slender figure exuded an even stronger aura which kept people away. She gave the feeling of a beautiful yet poisonous poppy flower kept in the darkness. She carried an irresistible deadly poison which one would be willing to die for.

“Can you tell me more about the 3rd grade black precious stone? I’m quite curious about it.” Qing Shui asked as they walked. When he turned his head, he saw the side view of Canghai Mingyue’s face up close. It was a heart-stirring sight, especially that pale slender pinkish neck and her translucent ears. They caused Qing Shui’s throat to feel dry. He also felt an impulse to reach in for a kiss.

It was as if Canghai Mingyue had felt Qing Shui’s burning glare when she quietly took two more steps before she gradually said, “There are many types of these mysterious precious stones across the world of the nine continents. Each of them are targeted to raise the powers of martial practitioners. There are yellow gemstones which could absorb a given amount of electrical elemental powers, red gemstones which could absorb a given amount of fire elemental powers, blue gemstones which could absorb a given amount of water elemental powers, and green gemstones which could absorb a given amount of wood elemental powers.”

Qing Shui was able to understand Canghai Mingyue’s explanation, but in his memories, the green gemstones increased the absorption of earth elemental powers. It seemed like the information from his memories was not the most reliable.

From there, Canghai Mingyue continued, “The higher gemstones are aimed to increase a warrior’s resistance. Usually, only those of 4th grade or higher would have stronger powers, but there are a few other types like the black gemstone which are extremely valuable. The red agate which increases attack is of the same nature as the black gemstone. A 3rd grade agate can increase one’s attack by 10%, a 4th grade can increase by 20%, and a 5th grade can increase by 40%. The list goes on, but no one knows the maximum grade.”

“The red agate is some really good stuff. If I can get a 10th grade red agate, tsk tsk.” Thinking of that horrifying attack prowess, Qing Shui wished that he could find one and keep it for himself…

“There’s still the mysterious moonstone which can strengthen one’s defense. A 3rd grade moonstone can increase one’s defence by 10%, a 4th grade can increase by 20%, and a 5th grade can increase by 40%. There are also no limitations to the the grades of the moonstone.”

“Are there any other rare gemstones?” Qing Shui asked calmly.

“There are many. The world of the nine continents does not lack mysterious items. There’s also the sunstone which is said to be able to strengthen one’s attack even more than the red agate. The sharira can greatly increase one’s spiritual sense. The lightstone can increase one’s lifespan. Lastly, the legendary mysterious stone’s effects are sadly unknown. There are also many others as well.”

After Canghai Mingyue said her piece, Qing Shui felt slightly astonished. It was acceptable that the sunstone and the lightstone were so powerful, but to think that the mysterious stone was a legendary item. After all, from what Qing Shui knew, the mysterious stone was one of the worst stones.

Qing Shui now felt very strange. He did not know if he was happy or unhappy. It was as if he had heard of something interesting and extremely important. He had a feeling that he had seen it and owned it before. The feeling was fantastic.

What made Qing Shui surprised was that a 3rd grade black gemstone was already so precious. It was unbelievable.

Items like these would be what experts yearned for. After all, they would bring along a significant increase to their abilities. Thus, the price for these items were very high as well. The reason for the high prices was also partly because they were extremely hard to come across. An item was more precious the rarer it was.

Even if it was worn by one whose abilities were low, Qing Shui reckoned that the speed of one’s improvement would still be quite increased considerably. Qing Shui felt that if he were to get a 3rd grade black gemstone, his abilities would definitely increase quite a lot. Of course, it would be even better if he got one that was a 4th grade, 5th grade, or an even higher quality.

“Are these gemstones all in the completed stage or do they still need to go through the hands of specialists to process them?” Qing Shui now knew that there were 3rd grade gemstones, 4th grade gemstones…

“Gemstones come from mysterious mines. The raw gemstones extracted are all 1st grade gemstones. Of course, it would still need to be carved and polished first. For it to become a 2nd grade gemstone or one of even higher quality, it will need to go through refinement. It is the process of refining two gemstones of the same grade to get one of a higher grade. I only know that the success rate of refining a 2nd grade gemstone from 1st grade gemstones is not even 10%. The success rate of refining a 3rd grade gemstone from 2nd grade ones is 1% as the average of one success takes one hundred tries. I’m not sure about the rest.” Canghai Mingyue gave a light smile towards Qing Shui and said.

Each smile and frown from her were all very attractive. That majestic beauty, which one could find no fault in, was able to cause Qing Shui to be dazzled easily!

So that was how the gemstones here were combined. It was just that the powers of the gemstones were more significant. They were able to be refined to reach twice the effect with an increase of one grade. It was just too bad that the success rate was horribly low. It was only natural for such strong items to be extremely rare.

“Can these gemstones only be embedded into a necklace?” Qing Shui asked. After all, the effects could be obtained from just wearing it as a necklace. It should be possible for it to be embedded into any accessories.

“No. By right, it can be embedded to any accessories you wish. It could be necklaces, pendants, belt, armor…but the prerequisite is dependent on the quality of these items. If the quality is not good enough, it’s possible that it may not be able to withstand the mysterious powers of the gemstones.”

“So that means I can embed it onto anything, and there’s no limit to the amount? If that’s the case, it’ll definitely look very impressive if I could carry gemstones all over my body.” Qing Shui said, amazed.

Hearing Qing Shui’s words, Canghai Mingyue smiled. There was a tinge of teasing in her smile.

“Most clothes do not have such abilities to withstand gemstones, not even top quality silk or brocade. Rumors said that the silk produced by the Japanese Oak Silkworm can hold onto them, but it is merely just a rumor. Only armors and battle gear can hold them, but the best armor known at the moment is the Golden Armor. It can only be embedded with four 5th grade gemstones. If the gemstones were of an even better grade, an armor of the same quality would not be able to withstand the same amount. It hasn’t been said that there are any higher quality gemstones.”

After saying this, Canghai Mingyue looked at Qing Shui, amused, while Qing Shui rubbed his nose and smiled awkwardly.

“So now, the most common items are necklaces, pendants, bangles, belts, and foot chains. One can carry many of them, but usually there would only be one gemstone embedded in each item. The best item I’ve ever seen was the Water Jade Azure Dragon Necklace, but it was also only embedded with a 5th grade black gemstone.”

Water Jade Azure Dragon was something which sounded familiar to Qing Shui. In his previous life, it was the same quality as the Big Dipper Sword. It seemed like it was an item of extremely high quality in the world of the nine continents.

Recalling the Big Dipper Sword, Qing Shui could not help but ask, “These gemstones can be embedded into weapons?”

“Of course, in the world of the nine continents, the most common item people choose to embed their gemstones are weapons. A sword’s hilt can embed up to three gemstones, and there are even some swords whose blades can also be embedded with quite a few of them. According to written records, a sword can, at most, be embedded with ten gemstones. There would be three on the hilt and seven on the blade!”

Canghai Mingyue’s reply made Qing Shui overjoyed. He knew that the Big Dipper Sword was definitely a good item. Moreover, Qing Shui felt that the seven stars on the Big Dipper Sword were like seven gemstones. Could it be that there was some hidden secret to it…?

The three of them slowly walked, and Huoyun Liu-Li would listen to Qing Shui and Canghai Mingyue’s conversation quietly. She gave a light smile occasionally, sometimes towards Qing Shui, and other times towards Canghai Mingyue.

Qing Shui would tend to start thinking after listening to what Canghai Mingyue said each time. To others, he may seem to be deep in thought, or even lost in his own thoughts.

Qing Shui had already grasped quite a few supporting techniques and he was not sure if gemstone workmanship would be considered a supporting technique as well. From the conversation with Canghai Mingyue, he understood how amazing gemstones were in the world of the nine continents. Qing Shui unknowingly started to yearn to learn gemstone workmanship. After all, each additional grade would bring about twice the impact of the previous grade. It was too perverse.

A 3rd grade gemstone would bring about an increased effect of 10%, a 4th grade gemstone would bring about an effect of 20%, and a 5th grade gemstone would bring about an effect of 40%. Both the Water Jade Azure Dragon and Golden Armor could increase one’s abilities by 40%, which was equivalent to taking five Small Revitalizing Pellet. It was too bad that one could only take two of those.

If only he could pick up gemstone workmanship in the future and carry around a whole load of gemstones of 7th grade or higher. Qing Shui could even be equipped with the ability to embed gemstones…Haha, with just the effects of the gemstones alone, killing people would become as easy as killing a dog. How carefree would that be?

“Are you thinking of carrying a whole load of 7th and 8th grade gemstones and flaunting them around in the future?” Canghai Mingyue smiled and said. Her black and beautiful profound eyes and her pearl-white exposed teeth were really dazzling. Qing Shui’s started to burn up especially after he chanced upon a bit of that pink and tender little tongue for hers.

However, Qing Shui was still shocked by Canghai Mingyue’s words. To think that she had seen through him. Did he look like an idiot earlier?

“Hehe, you’ve seen it for yourself. There’s still some trouble for now.” Qing Shui grinned and said in a casual tone.

When Canghai Mingyue heard Qing Shui’s words, she broke into an even more intoxicating smile, even though it was always a gentle smile. “There’s still some trouble for now. Haha, there really is. When the day comes when you don’t face difficulty and can refine large numbers of 7th grade or higher quality precious stones, remember to give me some as gifts, alright?”

“No problem, if I successfully refine my first precious stone of the 7th grade or higher, you’ll be the first person I will give it to.” Qing Shui said half teasingly.

After all, he had yet to grasp the skills of refining precious stones. Even if he had grasped it, there was no need to let others know since it would only bring more trouble to him without any advantages at all.

Qing Shui’s words caused Canghai Mingyue to throw him a glance which was hard to understand. Qing Shui decided to ignore it altogether.