Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

Afterward.

It was already noon.

Zhou Hong snuggled lazily into Chen Li’s embrace, her bright eyes like a pair of watery phoenixes as she gazed at her man, cooing softly, "I’ve never seen any other Loose Cultivators with a premium Magic Artifact in the Green River District, it must be very expensive. Don’t buy me another one in the future!"

"It’s not that pricey, it only cost 25 Mid-grade Spirit Stones. Besides, how can one skimp on such protective items? No matter how much it costs, it’s necessary to buy them!" Chen Li’s hand continued to slide up and down, adding, "Although this place seems safe, there’s no shortage of darkness lurking in the shadows, we need to be cautious."

Compared to the Green River District, the situation here was even more complex.

The Everlasting Sect, Foundation Establishment families, and all sorts of foreign powers were mixed together... Although the war had ended, the future was unpredictable.

However, no matter what, he would rather stay here than remain in the gradually sinking ship that was the Green River District.

He only hoped for a few years of peace.

Until he... achieved Foundation Establishment.

At that moment, he heard a familiar set of footsteps approaching: "It should be Zhang Yan looking for me, you keep resting!"

Chen Li had no choice but to dress himself properly, straighten out his appearance, and slapped on a Cleaning Talisman to remove any odd scents before he opened the door and stepped out to greet his visitor.

Zhang Yan came over looking worriedly, "Fellow Daoist Chen, you’re up; I just went out to inquire a bit, and the rent in Luoluo City is so expensive!"

Chen Li inquired, "How much is the rent?"

"To live in Luoluo City, you have to pay an annual rent of one Mid-grade Spirit Stone, and even the houses at the foot of the mountain cost thirty Low-grade Spirit Stones a year!"

Hearing this, Chen Li breathed a sigh of relief.

The way Zhang Yan spoke, Chen Li thought it would have been a lot more expensive.

Not counting the Magic Artifacts he hadn’t sold, he had a savings of 145 Mid-grade Spirit Stones left, which was enough to live here for over a hundred years.

"After all, this is Luoluo City, a first-grade spiritual land; the rent is acceptable. As a Talisman Master, you shouldn’t be lacking this amount, right?"

"I do have some savings, but the prices for talismans here are just too low. I’ve inquired, a Featherweight Talisman can only be sold for one Low-grade Spirit Stone, living here is going to be difficult in the future." Zhang Yan sighed.

Chen Li, who had an abundant wealth and could also draw high-value protective Amulets, similarly sighed, "Indeed, there are far too many peers here."

The two exchanged glances.

...

After lunch.

Zhao Lin invited over the steward responsible for property rentals in Luoluo City.

"You want to rent a house? Then you’ve come at a good time," the old steward said with a smile, "If it were before, there wouldn’t be so many houses to choose from if one wanted to settle here."

In the past year or so, first came the attacks from the three major neighboring sects, the fall of a Golden Core Ancestor, followed by a rebellion.

Luoluo City had become much more desolate, and many Loose Cultivators fled the place.

This led to a high number of empty houses.

"Well then, please trouble Steward Luo to take us for a good look around!" Chen Li extricated a protective Amulet, handed it to the other party, and bowed politely.

"Of course, of course!" Steward Luo glanced at the Amulet and quickly slipped it into his sleeve pocket, his smile even wider:

"I like dealing with sensible people. Even though Luoluo City is a first-grade Spiritual Energy site, within first-grade lands, the energy varies in density. Many of the best spots have been taken by the Foundation Establishment families in town, but there are still leftovers that I don’t tell just anyone about."

The group all showed delighted expressions.

Next, the old steward led them to view houses.

Unlike the dilapidated shanty areas of the Green River District, the houses here were in better shape, though this was also relative; most were merely slightly better and were neither quaintly vintage nor lavish with carved beams and painted rafters.

They were simply plain.

But there was one good thing.

The lands were quite spacious.

Each household with a courtyard had half an acre of space, with a distance of five to six meters between some houses and over ten meters between others.

This could make developers from the future weep.

And it was much less congested than the shanty areas of the Green River District.

"Steward Luo, taking people to see a house?"

"Yes, yes, Fellow Daoist Wang, are you heading out?"

"I made plans with Fellow Daoist Zhang to travel outside!"

"You’d better be careful, it hasn’t been very peaceful lately."

The old steward chatted as he walked through streets and alleys, frequently greeted by people, to which he responded with hand-folds, not once resting. When he came across familiar faces, he would stop to chat for a minute or two. Chen Li and the others had no choice but to wait patiently.

An hour later.

The old steward finally halted.

"This is the area, this place is splendid. Just a few steps from here is the Spirit Stream. Do you know where the Spirit Stream flows from? It comes from a third-grade spiritual land. The houses by this Spirit Stream naturally have denser Spiritual Energy than elsewhere!" the old steward spoke cheerfully:

"You can all feel it; is there any falsehood in what this old man says?"

Chen Li circulated his Cultivation Technique and truly felt a slightly stronger presence, so he bowed and said, "Thank you for your consideration, Steward Luo, we shall settle here then."

There were many vacant houses in this area.

There was a lot of options to choose from. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Chen Li picked a house he was satisfied with from all aspects and paid the Spirit Stones.

The old steward took out a pen and a ledger to record the information and then retrieved a Token made from an unknown material. He wrote down the address of the house and the rental details, handed it to Chen Li, and rambled on:

"You must take good care of this token, and if you lose it, be sure to apply for a replacement in time. Ah, there are people who like to exploit the situation, seeing many vacant houses and secretly moving in. We’ve been strict in inspections lately, so it could be troublesome if you can’t produce it when checked."

Chen Li took the Token, glanced at it, and stealthily slipped it into his storage bag while disguised by his sleeve.

"How about the rest of you, have you taken a fancy to anything?" the old steward asked, looking at the others.