Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

"First Order Spirit Grass, Sun-Facing Flower, purchase price one Low-grade Spirit Stone per plant, unlimited quantity acquisition, better price for larger quantities."

"First Order Spirit Grass, Mushroom Immortal Grass, purchase price two Low-grade Spirit Stones per plant, the best price in the entire city."

...

As the regional hegemon nearby, the influence of the Fiery Cloud Sect radiated throughout the entire wasteland of the West. With various sizes of Flying Boats shuttling ceaselessly every day, and cultivators traveling from south to north continuously, business was booming and extremely lively.

In the city, there were as many as seventeen or eighteen shops solely purchasing Spirit Grass, including those selling elixirs that also purchased grass.

Chen Li visited all the purchasing sites to get a rough idea of the prices before starting to change his appearance and selling the mountain of herbs in his storage bag in batches.

The grade of the herbs he held was not high, all of them were First Order, and the best batch was just First Order Top-grade.

But the quantity was large.

For a typical Loose Cultivator in Qi Cultivation, finding even one plant in the forest would be cause for joy.

If they managed to find five plants, they could live luxuriously for the entire month, eating their fill of Spirit Rice and Demon Beast Meat and even saving some.

However, the quantity of herbs Chen Li had was calculated by the ton.

And they were herbs that had been processed and dried.

Luckily, Red Pillar City had a market big enough to swallow this batch of goods.

After being busy for most of the day, when the last batch of goods was sold off successfully, Chen Li had acquired an additional 398 Top-grade Spirit Stones.

Together with the original amount, this brought the total number of Top-grade Spirit Stones in Chen Li’s possession to 436.

And this didn’t even include the remaining spoils from the battle with the Tianxing Sect or the three Formation components of the Mountain Protection Array from the Returning True Sect.

Having just come into such a huge sum and unable to resist scratching the itch in his heart, Chen Li couldn’t wait to start a mega shopping spree!

Cloud-Patterned Robe: Second Order Top-grade robe, comes with a Seventh Level Second Order Shield Skill.

It cost him 85 Top-grade Spirit Stones.

Although he could cast a water shield at the Max Level of Second Order Eighth Level, the robe’s inbuilt Shield Skill was only truly effective at the level of Sixth Level in the Second Order, which was far less than his own shield spell in terms of defense. But casting spells took time, and in the event of sudden combat or a surprise attack, time was exactly what you lacked, not allowing you to respond calmly.

The only downside was that its defense was a little weak.

However, this was already the best robe he could buy unless he tried his luck at an auction.

Robes and Magic Artifacts are different, the workmanship is complex, and both the working hours and difficulty level of production are far beyond what Magic Artifacts require. To embroider a variety of formations onto fabric as thin as cicada wings and as light as nothingness, higher-order materials are necessary to make up for it.

Lower-order robes are fine; the materials are easy to find.

But higher-order robes are difficult to come by.

This "Cloud-Patterned Robe" used the down of a Third Order Demon Beast.

Luckily, it was roughly good enough to block a sudden assault from an ordinary cultivator in the later stages of Foundation Establishment, and this short time was enough for Chen Li to react.

Return Yuan Elixir: Used to assist mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators in their cultivation.

Twelve Mid-grade Spirit Stones per bottle.

It was more than twice as expensive as a Harmonizing Qi Elixir, and Chen Li bought a hundred bottles.

This cost another 12 Top-grade Spirit Stones.

"This money really isn’t lasting as long as it used to," Chen Li lamented inwardly, "I’ve just spent nearly a hundred Top-grade Spirit Stones in an instant, and I still need to buy a house, which is another significant expense."

Chen Li had already made inquiries.

Indeed, the houses here could be purchased, but all were exorbitantly priced.

A small courtyard that occupied half an acre was basically priced around five Top-grade Spirit Stones, which based on his annual salary from the Returning True Sect, would take five years of not eating or drinking to afford.

Renting was equally expensive.

It cost upward of thirty Mid-grade Spirit Stones per year.

Upon calculation, if one planned to stay long-term, purchasing was more cost-effective.

But a half-acre courtyard was obviously too small for Chen Li.

It not only limited his activities but also made it difficult to set up formations. Even if he wanted to lay out a Second Order Lower-grade Yin Yang Five Elements Gathering Spirit Array, he would need at least four or five acres to utilize it perfectly.

"Nowadays, expenses are becoming larger and larger. The money earned from Golden Light Body Protection Talismans has long been insufficient to cover the costs, and the deficit is growing bigger and bigger. At this rate, the money I have left will last at most another ten or twenty years." On the way back to the inn, Chen Li walked and silently calculated in his heart:

"I must learn how to make the Cultivate Essence Water Shield Talisman as soon as possible to replace the Golden Light Body Protection Talisman as my new source of income!"

Commerce here is thriving with numerous cultivators traveling south and north every day and an amazing number of Foundation Establishment practitioners. The second-grade talismans, which had little to no market within the Returning True Sect, are in high demand here.

...

Early the next morning, Chen Li found the place responsible for renting and selling houses.

The gates were still firmly shut.

Yet, outside, there was already a very long queue.

"Is it this crowded here every day?"

Chen Li called over a Qi Cultivation practitioner standing in front of him.

The Qi Cultivation practitioner, having seen much and known much, recognized the second-grade robe on Chen Li and knew he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator. He quickly cupped his hands in greeting, "Senior, this is a third-grade spiritual land. If it were anywhere else, we Loose Cultivators wouldn’t have the chance to enter it. Qi Cultivators like us can rent a place for a year or two, and if we manage to break through and even achieve Foundation Establishment, it will all be worth it.

Unfortunately, with more people than there are rooms, we can only come as early as possible. I’ve been coming here for three days now, and each time, just when my turn is about to come up, there are no rooms left."

"So that’s how it is!"

Chen Li instantly understood.

Back in the day, when he was advancing to Foundation Establishment,

he had even braved the dangers of the deep forest in search of a higher-grade spiritual land.

Here, however, things were obviously much more convenient and safe.

For Qi Cultivators, the annual rent of thirty mid-grade Spirit Stones is indeed extremely high, but it isn’t unattainable.

After all, for just two Foundation Establishment Elixirs, he had spent 440 mid-grade Spirit Stones.

With that amount of money, one could live here for fourteen years.

"When will the doors open here?"

"That depends on when the manager comes. Usually, it’s around noontime every day, but it’s not certain. Sometimes, if there are other matters, it’s possible that they won’t come at all."

Chen Li: "..."

Chen Li felt helpless and could only wait patiently.

He chatted casually with the Qi Cultivation practitioner beside him, passing the time bit by bit while the line behind him grew longer and longer.

By the time the sun was almost directly overhead, an elderly Foundation Establishment practitioner dressed in the robes of the Tianxing Sect finally sauntered over, taking his time as he approached.

The old man appeared well-fed, with thick eye bags that hung down and swollen eyelids, a look of sleepiness about him, completely indifferent to the long queue before him.

He went by himself to open the door and while walking inside, spoke in a slow and measured tone:

"Today, there are only 32 slots available for renting houses. Those who don’t get a slot, please come early tomorrow!"

The queue was immediately thrown into commotion.

"Alas, there are even fewer slots available today than yesterday; it seems I’ll have to try my luck tomorrow again."

"I’ve already been staying at an inn for half a month, when will there be available rooms?"

...

Most of those who realized they wouldn’t get a turn sighed and left, while others lingered to see if something unexpected might happen.

The business was handled very quickly.

Before long, it was Chen Li’s turn, and he was the last one.

"There are no more rooms for rent. If you wish, Fellow Daoist, you can only buy." Seeing that Chen Li was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, the old man couldn’t help but lift his eyelids slightly and added this extra bit of information.

"Of course, I intend to buy. It would be best to have around five acres. Please, manager, choose a peaceful and comfortable location for me." Chen Li promptly presented a top-grade Spirit Stone and placed it in the other’s hand, greeting him with a cupped fist.

The stoic and rigid expression on the old man’s face instantly broke into a smile as radiant as a blooming chrysanthemum, his demeanor becoming enthusiastic, a complete contrast to his former self:

"Certainly, certainly, would Fellow Daoist happen to have time now? I can take you to choose right away!"