Unable to Rent

The next day at dawn, Shen Ping slowly calmed down. He glanced at his wife and concubine who were immersed in their sleep and opened the virtual interface.

[Talisman Master: Level One Mid-Grade (13,036/10,000). Can be broken through.]

...

[Metal Spiritual Root: Mid-grade (1,820/10,000)]

[Wood Spiritual Root: Mid-grade (1,714/10,000)]

He could have made a breakthrough with his experience in the Dao of Talismans a long time ago, but he was limited by his cultivation. Even if he made a breakthrough, he could not create talismans, so he had been suppressing it.

Now that he had officially broken through to the fourth level of Qi Refinement, there was no need to suppress it anymore. He got out of bed quietly. Then, he went to the cubicle. After meditating and sitting cross-legged, he chanted in his heart, "Break through!"

Boom.

The virtual frame shook slightly.

A large amount of information about the experience and comprehension of the Dao of Talismans surged into Shen Ping's sea of consciousness. This time, he seemed to have seen a figure. He had been crafting talismans for many years and was constantly accumulating experience to improve his Dao of Talismans.

A few dozen breaths later, he opened his eyes, and his pupils flickered with joy. From today onwards, he was a high-grade Talisman Master. He got up and came to the kitchen. He scooped the rice, cut the meat, and cooked the rice.

When his wife and concubine woke up, the smell of spirit rice mixed with the fragrance of meat filled the room.

"Husband, y-you seem to have broken through?" Yesterday, Bai Yuying did not even have the time to sense it before she went to bed. Today, when she woke up and saw Shen Ping, she felt a little different.

Shen Ping smiled and said, "That's right. I'm already a fourth level Qi Refinement cultivator!"

Wang Yun immediately became excited. "Congratulations, husband! Congratulations, husband!" She wasn't even dressed properly, and her chest was trembling.

Bai Yuying also hurriedly congratulated him. However, compared to Wang Yun, she was not that excited. After all, the fourth level of Qi Refinement was still at the bottom.

After dinner, his wife and concubine went out to dry the brocade on a rope made of date trees outside the house. At the same time, they cleaned up and dealt with the trash.

Shen Ping looked at the narrow house and thought to himself.

Now that the poison in his body had been removed, although he no longer needed to accumulate spirit stones to buy the Poison Dispelling Pill, he had to buy a mid-grade dharma weapon after his cultivation broke through to the middle stage. The price of such an item was not low.

Attack and defense, especially defense, could not be skipped. This was a matter of safety. In the past, he had no money and his cultivation was insufficient, so he could only make do. However, he had to make arrangements now.

The other was the living environment.

Red Willow Alley was not safe. He had already gone out very few times, but there were times when he had no choice but to go out. To avoid danger, moving to the market was the only way.

However, the streets and alleys of the market were already full. So he could only wait. Cultivators fought for their lives with the heavens. They were in danger every day. Perhaps it wouldn't be long before there were empty houses in the market.

If there really wasn't any, then he had no choice but to consider co-renting the small courtyard that Shopkeeper Chen mentioned.

"In the future, my expenses will increase. My family background is still too poor. First, I'll use up all the mid-grade talismans in my hands. Next, I'll try to make high-grade talismans."

Shen Ping did not buy high-grade talisman materials last time. Firstly, he did not have enough spirit stones. Secondly, he was worried that he did not have enough experience in the Dao of Talismans and the success rate of making them would be low, causing the materials to be wasted.

After developing a plan, he got busy again. After so many years of cultivation, he had long developed a busy habit. Even though he had just broken through, he was unwilling to idle and enjoy a moment of time.

...

Early August.

The temperature gradually rose.

Red Willow Alley was scorching under the scorching sun, and it was filled with an unpleasant smell. The growth of mosquitoes in the streets caused low-level talismans like Cleaning Talismans and Insect Repelling Talismans to sell.

In the past, Shen Ping would accumulate his wealth during this season, but this year, he did not join in the fun.

On this day, the Golden Sun Sect's large flying ship once again stopped at the edge of the market. Another group of cultivators arrived. The prices of houses in Red Willow Alley did not change, but the prices in the various streets and alleys of the market rose. Even so, there were no idle houses for rent.

Under the circumstances of being overcrowded, the Golden Sun Sect announced that they would expand the market and open up an area in the east to build a medium-sized courtyard.

As soon as this news was released, many cultivators rushed to the outer sect's Deacon Hall of the market to ask about the specifics. When Yu Yan returned from the market and saw Shen Ping outside the house, she sighed repeatedly. "I can't afford it, I can't afford it!"

Shen Ping's expression changed as he asked, "Did Fellow Daoist Yu go to the Deacon Hall?"

Yu Yan nodded. "This time, the Golden Sun Sect is going to build three hundred medium-sized courtyards in the east. Each courtyard has six houses, divided into two floors. You can rent them individually or share them."

The corner of Shen Ping's mouth twitched. The Golden Sun Sect was really getting better at doing business.

However, there were indeed too many cultivators in the marketplace. It was said that a portion of the cultivators had moved out of the marketplace and moved to another marketplace near the edge of Cloud Mountain Swamp. That marketplace was established by a cultivation clan under the jurisdiction of the Golden Sun Sect last year. In terms of strength and safety, it was far inferior to Cloud Mountain Market.

"What about the price?"

"Fifteen medium-grade spirit stones!"

Shen Ping smiled and said, "This price is not bad. If we share a house—"

Before he could finish speaking, Yu Yan interrupted, "What are you thinking about? It costs 15 mid-grade spirit stones to rent a single room in the small courtyard!"

Shen Ping almost blurted out, "What? A single room? This is too expensive!"

The courtyard where Late-stage Qi Refinement Level-8 and Foundation Establishment cultivators lived only cost 20 spirit stones a year. In the end, this medium-sized courtyard cost 15 spirit stones a room.

It was no different from snatching.

One had to know that his annual net profit was only about 40 mid-grade spirit stones.

This was also because his success rate in making talismans was very high and the market was good. For a rogue cultivator like Yu Yan, who was at the fifth level of Qi Refinement, just by relying on hunting demon beast materials and other income every year, she could at most earn 20 mid-grade spirit stones. Of course, if she was a robber cultivator, the income would be high, but it was also very dangerous.

"Even if it's expensive, it's still good. The deacon said that there will be a large-scale Spirit Gathering Array in the medium-sized courtyard built this time. It will also be connected to the spiritual vein of the Golden Sun Sect. Not only that, but each individual house is quite big. There will be a quiet room, a material processing room, and other small compartments inside."

Hearing this, Shen Ping fell silent. Just the fact that it was connected to the spiritual vein of the Golden Sun Sect was enough to tempt countless cultivators.

The Golden Sun Sect's branch sect was located on top of the spiritual vein in the Cloud Mountain Swamp. The spiritual energy inside was abundant, and it was not something that the market could compare to.

Spiritual veins were very important to cultivators. The higher the level of a cultivator, the more they needed a spiritual vein environment.

"Sigh, what a pity. Not only can't we afford it, but after it's built, it won't be our turn!" Yu Yan shook her head and sighed. "Many high-level cultivators are watching it now. How can us mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators beat them?" With that, she turned around and returned to her house. She knew about Shen Ping's breakthrough a few days ago, so she only congratulated him.

"Shopkeeper Chen, that medium-sized courtyard…" Shen Ping returned to his room and sent a message to Shopkeeper Chen.

Not long after, Shopkeeper Chen replied, "Fellow Daoist Shen, I don't think it's possible. I didn't expect the Golden Sun Sect to connect the medium-sized courtyards to the spiritual vein this time. Now, 100 of the 300 courtyards have been reserved. The rest will be provided to late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators first.

"However, it will take at least half a year to complete the construction. Fellow Daoist Shen might have a chance."

Shen Ping's heart sank. Previously, he had found it expensive, but in the end, he could not even rent it. "Shopkeeper Chen, please help me keep an eye on the house. If there are any empty houses, please inform me immediately."

"No problem!"