5 5. Renting Cave_1

Day gave way to night, and after a whole evening's time,

Song He had rummaged through all sorts of collected tomes by the original owner, and finally gained a preliminary understanding of the Wood Gourd.

To his surprise, he discovered this thing was unexpectedly easy to nurture; it possessed remarkable adaptability to its environment, and one could almost say it required only an ample supply of Wood Spiritual Energy to grow rapidly.

However... the description of its need for Wood Spiritual Energy used the word "massive."

And it wasn't just this tome—other books also specifically noted that an area rich in Wood Spiritual Energy was necessary for it to take root and sprout.

According to Song He's estimation, it probably needed to be aided by Spirit Stones for growth.

"However, there seems to be no mention of the Essence of the Yin Wood and Spirit Transformation?"

Song He whispered to himself, his heart pounding excitedly.

In the multitude of tomes he combed through, the effects of the Wood Gourd were actually to contain a pure surge of Ethereal wood aura upon maturing.

This spirit Qi had many wonderful uses.

Including but not limited to accelerating the growth of other Spirit Plants, Alchemy, enlightening the Spirit Wisdom of Spiritual Beasts, and even directly enhancing one's Cultivation Level.

It was truly versatile.

But Song He found no mention in the tomes that the Wood Gourd could produce "Essence of the Yin Wood."

Let alone Spirit Transformation.

"So does this mean I've hit the jackpot again?"

At that moment, Song He felt a mix of joy and slight trepidation.

Because, sometimes, even if a Spirit Plant fell ill and it was visible on the panel, without Spirit Stones to purchase enough materials, the issue couldn't be resolved.

One can't always go running to Uncle Jiang for everything.

That Uncle Jiang seemed so formidable; he probably knew that this gourd seed was out of the ordinary, right?

Was this a test, then?

A test to see if he could properly cultivate the seed?

After much thought, Song He felt there was a strong possibility of that being the case.

He was uncertain, yet suspicious.

It was clear that he couldn't just sit on such a treasure without planting it. Moreover, he wouldn't be able to justify it to Uncle Jiang.

Furthermore, in the Cultivation World, one could only stagnate without resources. He had to grow Spirit Plants to obtain sufficient resources.

Not to mention the Wood Spiritual Energy and Essence of the Yin Wood contained within the Wood Gourd were treasures he desperately needed and would greatly assist in enhancing his Cultivation Level.

He hesitated no further and chose to take action.

"First, I'll go rent a cave," he decided.

Song He took both Spirit Stones and the seed with him as he stepped out the door and headed straight for Green River Peak, as Uncle Jiang had mentioned.

...

Venturing away from the "Novice Area" where he had always been, Song He marched forward, feeling the strength of the sect for the first time.

The sect was expansive; each area named after a peak was part of a continuous mountain range. Some mountains deeper within were said to be so vast they could bear an entire mortal kingdom.

Mountains and ridges, lakes and marshes.

Almost every type of terrain was in sight.

An abundance of spirit Qi enveloped the entire sect, making the whole world vibrant and shrouded in immortal mists.

The Spiritual Leaf Sect, known for cultivating Spirit Plants and breeding various Spiritual Beasts, naturally did not lack wondrous scenes and views.

Even only having a rough understanding from his memories, Song He was still captivated by many sights and would often stop to observe.

The unique beauty specific to the Cultivation World truly made him reluctant to leave.

And this was just the scenery near the "Novice Area"!

Glancing at the sights as he passed, it took him about two Time Units to finally reach his destination—within the sect, there were Teleportation Arrays interconnected, but a single teleportation cost five Spirit Stones, which was frankly an unnecessary expense for Song He, who was saving up to "rent a place."

After all, New Cultivating Peak, where he had been, was adjacent to his destination, Green River Peak. He might as well treat it like a "scenic tour."

Thus, he simply chose to walk, moving across tree ladders and cloud bridges. It was, after all, within the sect, and crossing a peak outright was somewhat impractical.

This was hardly the middle of nowhere.

Places rich in spirit Qi had long been developed by Cultivators into caves and spirit fields. Passing through someone's property would be quite improper...

Walking across the cloud bridges, one could also view plenty of beautiful landscapes. Cultivators were Full of Energy, and having taken in the beautiful views along the way, he didn't feel any heat or fatigue.

"This Junior Brother, have you come here to rent a satisfying cave dwelling?"

As soon as Song He stepped into Deacon Hall, a young Cultivator approached him with a welcoming smile. Despite being a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, he carried no air of arrogance.

Clad in a flowing white robe, with eyebrows sharp as swords and eyes like stars, towering over eight feet tall, he would be considered above average in appearance even among the Cultivation World, where beauties and handsome men were commonplace.

Song He, not wishing to be disrespectful, returned the gesture and answered,

"Yes, senior brother, I wish to lease a cave, preferably close to water with an ample supply of wood spiritual energy."

He stated his request directly and straightforwardly.

Without any beating around the bush.

Hearing this, the white-robed cultivator sized up Song He and, as if he had come to a realization, said, "A place abundant with wood spiritual energy... Ah, you must be Song He, whom Uncle Jiang mentioned, right?"

"I've been waiting for you for quite a while, brother. Come, let's sit down and have a detailed chat."

His smile was much more sincere than before as he gestured with an outstretched hand, leading Song He to a table and chairs nearby to sit down.

He also served a pot of spiritual tea and two plates of pastries.

This unexpected special treatment surprised Song He a little, but he also knew that the Uncle Jiang mentioned was the elder who had given him the gourd seeds yesterday.

Clearly, without this connection, he would certainly not have been treated with such courtesy and enthusiasm.

"This... I am indeed Song He, senior brother, you are making me somewhat uneasy with such hospitality," he said.

Although the other appeared to be approachable and enthusiastic, Song He remembered the iron rule of the cultivation world that only those with higher cultivation levels had the right to speak, and thus he did not neglect any of the necessary etiquette.

After all, no one likes someone who is arrogant and boastful in their presence, and until one grew powerful enough to do as they pleased, it cost nothing to smile more and be polite.

Of course, he maintained his dignity while also being humble and courteous.

Having been harshly treated by society in his previous life, he certainly had some insight into this matter.

"Junior brother, there's no need to be so formal," the white-robed cultivator said, clearly very satisfied with Song He's behavior.

"Uncle Jiang sent me a special message yesterday to remind me, and I have been eagerly awaiting for a whole day, wondering why I hadn't seen you come!"

It sounded like a complaint, but it was obviously said in jest, with not a trace of dissatisfaction in his tone.

"Yesterday, I was organizing and reviewing books. As you know, senior brother, the cultivation of spirit plants is profound and complex, and one must be careful."

Song He did not reveal exactly what spirit plants he had obtained but made an excuse and moved on to the main topic: "You must have a lot of experience in this area, senior brother. I would appreciate your help in finding a suitable cave for me."

When the conversation turned to business, the white-robed cultivator became serious.

He asked:

"That's easy, but first, I need to know how much savings you have at the moment?"

"Three hundred and seventy-six spirit stones; that's all the savings I have," Song He replied.

He didn't try to hide his financial desperation, for it was important to be upfront with the person who was helping him choose a cave. Disguising it now might cause problems later.

And besides, he was not bothered by temporary hardship.

With the entry panel at his disposal, he was confident that he would soon have enough spirit stones to spend freely.

"Hmm, more than three hundred stones... That should be enough to lease a Grade C cave for three months," the white-robed cultivator pondered momentarily before suggesting, "Although a Grade D cave costs half as much as a Grade C, I still recommend you lease a Grade C.

Whether in terms of the amount of spirit Qi and the Spiritual Spring or the size of the spirit field, Grade C offers more than double that of Grade D."

As he spoke, he motioned with his hand.

"Whoosh~"p>

A scroll-shaped magic artifact flew through the air instantly.

And unfurled before Song He.

On the scroll, an illusory image of a mountain range appeared, filled with many dense red dots and a few green ones, and marked with the letters "A, B, C, D."

A-grade being the least, D-grade being the most.

The red dots were plentiful, occupying nearly ninety percent of the area with only ten percent being green.

However, almost without exception, the green dots represented areas that were not small in size.

"The green ones are the caves that no one has chosen yet. This area is quite good. Take a look, Junior Brother Song, and let me know if you fancy any place in particular," the white-robed cultivator said as he pointed to a region with the illusory image of a river and leisurely sipped his tea.

Song He carefully considered for a while and chose a relatively secluded location with a comparatively larger area.

"Senior brother, I'll take this place!"

"Oh, that's a good choice, it seems you've done your homework. A Grade C cave has two acres of Class II spirit fields, seven acres of Class I spirit fields, and one Spiritual Spring.

The rent is one hundred spirit stones per month. If you think that's acceptable, lend me your sect jade talisman and I'll finalize it for you."

The meaning behind his words was clear: it was time for Song He to pay up. Although Song He felt the pinch, he did not show it outwardly and took out the three hundred spirit stones along with his identity jade talisman and handed them to the white-robed cultivator.

Once the white-robed cultivator had confirmed and accepted them, he used a lotus-shaped magic artifact to mark the location on the scroll map, which then turned red where Song He had chosen.

After all was done, he returned the jade talisman to Song He.

He smiled faintly and said, "This time, junior brother, you must have spent all your savings. I happen to have a business opportunity; would you consider it?"

Hmm, that familiar expression was indeed very much like Uncle Jiang's. Song He was not keen on taking risks, but he was embarrassed by his scant funds.

With three hundred spirit stones gone in one go, he was left with only seventy-six, which was indeed a bit too little. To have emergency spirit stones at hand, he decided it was best to hear out what this business opportunity was.