## AST 849 – Level One Spirit Gathering Lamp, Sky City, Octagon Inn

After tempering it twenty times in a row, Qing Shui then tempered the Soulshake Bell, Demon Binding Ropes and even the Blackjade Poisonous Spiderweb. Qing Shui didn’t know about the Blackjade Poisonous Spiderweb and he knew that it was impossible for him to know of all such treasures. Therefore, the Blackjade Poisonous Spiderweb should be a treasure of a similar type to the Demon Binding Ropes and Soulshake Bell. However, the Blackjade Poisonous Spiderweb not only needed to be leveled up, it would also need to be tempered with some powerful poison.

After tempering these items, he went to where the plum blossoms were to practice Taichi for an hour. After the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal had leveled up to the seventh heavenly layer, there were twice as many plum blossoms as before.

The area of the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal was quite wide. This was an area which belonged to him alone. It could not be said to be very big but its length and width of 10,000 meters was considered quite good. Moreover, this place was a rich wonderland.

Very quickly, a month passed in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal!

This day, Qing Shui was tempering the Spirit Gathering Lamp as usual. On the eighth attempt, a glow which was many times brighter than before lit up. This flow was very familiar to him.

When the Soulshake Bell and Demon Binding Ropes leveling up to a higher grade, they had also released such a brilliant light.

Qing Shui held back his curiosity and finished up with the remaining twelve rounds of tempering. He then looked at the Spirit Gathering Lamp which looked like a layer of impurities had been removed. Although it still did not appear to be spotlessly clean of impurities, compared to before it was a tremendous change. It now appeared very dignified and pure.

He looked toward it with his Heavenly Vision Technique once again.

Spirit Gathering Lamp！

It was an ancient piece and the user could increase the spiritual energy of all tamed beasts which were engaged in battle, causing the attack prowess of the beast tamer’s skills to increase. The increase was related to its grade. Passive treasure, zero energy expenditure!

At grade one, there were slight changes!

It took him a month to bring it to grade one, which meant that it would take at least three months to reach grade two and one year to reach grade three. Qing Shui could make this estimation just by looking at the Soulshake Bell and Demon Binding Ropes. It was all good now. The Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal had leveled up to the seventh heavenly layer and compared to before, he would be able to save half the time required.

If not for the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, with such a high expenditure for time, even a Martial Saint with 1,000 years of lifespan would not have enough time!

Qing Shui brought the Fire Bird and Thunderous Beast to a spacious area in the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. Given that the realm now had a length and width of twenty li, this space he had was still considerably big. In the future, he would not have to worry about having no space to store any of the good things he may come across.

He then let the Fire Bird and Thunderous Beast perform the Nether Fireball and Thunderbolt. When that pitch-black fireball and purplish Thunderbolt appeared, Qing Shui was stunned. He looked at the Spirit Gathering Lamp in his hand in a daze.

Earlier, in order to know clearly the prowess of the Spirit Gathering Lamp, Qing Shui had sensed the prowess of both the Fire Bird and Thunderous Beast before he had started tempering. Therefore, after it had reached grade one, he could not wait to try it out to see if there has been any changes to their attacks.

He had not expected that the results would be so powerful!

About 10% of the prowess of magic was increased…

Thinking about it, Qing Shui smiled. The Spirit Gathering Lamp he knew of was a bit useless. If it wasn’t at the highest grade, there was basically not much effect. However, to think that for this Spirit Gathering Lamp, the prowess was already so great when it was just at grade one.

This was the power that a treasure should have. It was now all good. By the time he arrived at the Eastern Victory Divine Continent, the prowess of the Spirit Gathering Lamp would definitely be very great. More importantly, his Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal could be treated as a magic treasure box while others could only hold it in their hands if they were to used it.

Having seen the prowess of the Spirit Gathering Lamp, Qing Shui was beyond happy. His trip to the Central Continent was not wasted. Not only could the Spirit Gathering Lamp increase the attacking prowess of the Thunderous Beast’s Thunderbolt and Violet Lightning Strike, it could also strengthen the additional effects the attacks brought, such as being able to reduce the target’s speed, reaction and sensing abilities faster than before. It could also increase the duration of the paralyzing effect. When the Spirit Gathering Lamp’s grade increased, its prowess would be even more powerful.

Qing Shui then tested the attacks of the Diamond Gigantic Elephant and Ten Thousand Poisonous Violet Sable. However, there was no difference from before its grade had increased. He also did not notice much change to the Gold-Silver Colored Butterflies or Jade Emperor Queen Bee. It seemed like it was only effective toward magic.

This time around, the slight increase in the grade of the Spirit Gathering Lamp gave Qing Shui great hope. He thought about how he could crush his opponents just by relying on the Thunderous Beast alone.

…

Two months later, Qing Shui stood on the streets of the last city in the east of the Central Continent. He was planning to stay here for a day before going through that barren land which stretched for who knows how far and then head for the Eastern Victory Divine Continent.

There was another reason Qing Shui decided to stop by. It was because this city was known as the Sky City!

Sky City!

This was an existence that was in the same circle as the Demon Gate, Dragon Emperor Mountain and Tang Manor. However, he did not know why the city was called the Sky City. Could it be that faction was also called the Sky City?

Or was it because the faction was located in the Sky City?

Or was it a coincidence that both names were the same?

Qing Shui was regretting that he had not asked Tang Wude the reason behind this.

The location of the Sky City was very high. This could be said to be a city located in the high plains. This huge city was also very mysterious. It was taller than the surrounding area by 10,000 meters. In Qing Shui’s mind, this was a city located on a plateau.

The Sky City was extraordinarily prosperous. It was not affected by the fact that it was on a plateau. There was no feeling of being oxygen deprived but rather, it felt as if the spiritual energy was stronger than other places. This was the city where there were the most interactions between the Eastern Victory Divine Continent and Central Continent. Unless people flew past it, they would all need to pass by this Sky City.

Qing Shui stopped a beast carriage and headed for the biggest restaurant in the area. He had many questions and thus a restaurant was a good place for him to head to.

Octagon Inn！

Looking at this name, Qing Shui smiled. He had come across many restaurants and inns but there were not many whose names were able to interest him. The Earthly Paradise which Canghai Mingyue and Huoyun Liu-Li had run in the past was one whose name had interested him. He had also came across a few of them later on, one of which was Hundred Flowers Inn but it was a pity that it was a brothel.

Looking at the Octagon Inn, Qing Shui could not help but think of the Four Seas Inn. Places which dared to put up a signboard similar to this tended to be managed by a powerful faction, just like the Emperor City Auction Hall in the Central Continent, as well as those places which dared to use the names of the city directly.

“I wonder if this Octagon Inn has any relation to the Sky City?” Qing Shui smiled and walked in.

The Octagon Inn took up a very large piece of land and it was also very tall. It was a nine storey building, with each storey being over ten meters. It was looked as luxurious as a palace, with the entire building a jade blue color. There were eight corners to the building, facing eight directions, giving the Octagon Inn an air of nobility and dominance.

The Octagon Inn had a long dark red colored carpet which stretched out very far. All the people who passed through the building were all dressed in silk and satin as the aura exuded by the Octagon Inn which would keep poor people away.

Of course, there were also exceptions, for example, people who had strong powers. The Octagon Inn would not stop anyone from entering but upon entering, one must be able to pay. It would be a joke if the person were to dine and dash. There were not many people who would be able to stay safe after an attempt to dine and dash.

Qing Shui had a dignified appearance, wearing a pure while Lunar Silk Garment which made him look even taller. As he walked, there was an indescribable rhythm and he entered the Octagon Inn with an expression that was that of great ease.

“Sir, is there anything I can help you with?” A pleasant young female voice rang out.

Qing Shui turned to see a lady wearing a uniform, smiling.

“I want a room and food!”

“Which level do you plan to stay at?” The lady smiled and asked.

“Oh? Is there a difference?”

“It costs a hundred gold taels daily to stay in the first storey. With each increasing storey, the price doubles. Of course, the higher the storey you stay in, the better the quality provided and the service is better as well,” the lady smiled and explained it simply.

Even Qing Shui, who was never concerned about money, could not help but lament at how the place was a money depleting den, although he could smell the intoxicating fragrance of food and see the comfortable environment on the first storey. The customer service was also very good, giving one the feeling that one was above all other people. Moreover, coming here was representative of one’s identity.

Qing Shui did not know if it was because of the faction behind the Octagon Inn. And what services did they provide?

Women’s charms should not be the reason these people come here. Those who could afford to come here could be said to not be lacking in women. Of course, there was the exception of top notch beauties since there were too few of them around. Therefore, this was not a possibility.

Staying one day on the ninth storey cost 25,600 gold taels!

“I’d like to stay on the ninth storey for a day. Are there any unique features on the ninth storey?” Qing Shui smiled and asked.

“There would be an elementary Martial Saint beauty who would accompany you for a drink. However, this is on the condition that she is agreeable. Moreover, it would not exceed 15 minutes.” The lady smiled and said.

Martial Saint beauty’s accompanying him for a drink?

This innovation…

Qing Shui was stunned. Even though the person would only accompany for a short while and it was on the condition that she was agreeable to it, this was the first time he had heard of such a thing. After all, a Martial Saint would be a brilliant existence no matter where one was. Moreover, it was one who was young and beautiful.

“Sir, if you were to decide on the ninth floor, Miss Feng Wu would definitely join you for a drink.” The waitress smiled and said.

“Are there many people who stay on the ninth floor?” Qing Shui looked up and asked.

“There are!” The waitress smiled and said.

“How many Martial Saint young ladies there are in Octagon Inn who join guests for a drink?” Qing Shui smiled and asked. How could a beautiful a beautiful Martial Saint be here to accompany men who stank of money for a drink? Although there would be no skin contact, this was something that was almost impossible. Moreover, she would be treated as an esteemed guest no matter where she went with her status as a Martial Saint. Unless there were other reasons, those men who were powerful would probably not leave her alone.

These doubts made Qing Shui really want to meet this lady called Feng Wu.

“Only Miss Feng Wu is a Martial Saint.” The lady smiled and answered.

“Then is she able to cope?” Qing Shui continued to ask.

“That’s why she makes the decision if she wants to join the guest for a drink and only 15 minutes for each guest at most.” The lady seemed to be reminding Qing Shui that he could not blame anyone even if there was no one to accompany him even if he had spent the money. The person can only blame himself for not being handsome.

Qing Shui headed up with the waitress after everything was decided. Even he would not be able to spend over 20,000 gold taels a day. Although he had quite a lot of silver notes and other jewels, he would not be able to handle spending money like this.

It seemed like he was still considered poor. Looking at the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal, he decided to throw in money whenever he gets his hand on some in the future…