Doppelganger Chen Fan left the small courtyard, turned through several bends in the narrow alleys, and arrived at the market.
Doppelganger Chen Fan possessed the same intelligence as Chen Ze and quickly found the shop that handled house sales within the market.
Doppelganger Chen Fan entered the shop, and a clerk immediately came over to greet him.
"Hello. Are you looking to buy a house or rent one?"
The shop clerk sized up Doppelganger Chen Fan. The clerk was actually a cultivator himself, though his cultivation was not high—only at the Qi Refining Second Layer.
Yet he could not sense Doppelganger Chen Fan's cultivation, and the Doppelganger before him was deliberately concealing his face.
For a moment, the clerk could not determine whether Chen Ze was an ordinary mortal or a cultivator with profound cultivation.
Doppelganger Chen Fan spoke flatly. "Buy a house."
Hearing that he wanted to buy, the clerk was delighted. Selling a house naturally earned more commission than renting one out.
"May I ask whether you have a house in mind? Or perhaps a particular district?"
Doppelganger Chen Fan said directly, "The closer to the City Lord's Mansion, the better."
"Near the City Lord's Mansion?" The clerk looked at Doppelganger Chen Fan in confusion. What was this person planning to do?
"Wouldn't it be safer near the City Lord's Mansion? I'm rather timid." Doppelganger Chen Fan noticed that the clerk seemed to have misunderstood something and hurriedly explained.
"Oh, now that you put it that way, I understand. The security near the City Lord's Mansion is indeed the best."
After saying that, the clerk took out a map and continued, "Please take a look. This shows the distribution of houses currently for sale in our shop throughout Wannan City."
As he spoke, the clerk spread the map open for Doppelganger Chen Fan.
"Once you have chosen a location, I can take you over to inspect the houses."
Doppelganger Chen Fan nodded and studied the houses marked on the map, mainly those around the City Lord's Mansion.
A moment later, Doppelganger Chen Fan had his eye on two houses, both very close to the City Lord's Mansion.
"How much are these two?"
The clerk looked at the two properties Chen Ze had indicated.
"The prices are about the same. Both are around 200 Low-grade Spirit Stones. Which one would you like to view first?"
Doppelganger Chen Fan estimated the cost in his heart. The price was fairly reasonable. "Either is fine."
Afterward, the clerk took Doppelganger Chen Fan to inspect both properties.
After comparing them, Doppelganger Chen Fan found little difference between them. They were roughly the same size, except one had a larger courtyard while the other had a smaller one.
None of that mattered. As long as it was close to the City Lord's Mansion and security was assured, that was enough.
Before long, Doppelganger Chen Fan paid 200 Spirit Stones and chose the one with the larger courtyard.
The clerk then handed Doppelganger Chen Fan a Jade Token, which represented ownership of the property.
The Jade Token contained a special restriction mark that ordinary people could not imitate. These Jade Tokens all came from the City Lord's Mansion.
Within Wannan City, only the Jade Token was recognized, not the person. Even if Chen Ze wanted to resell it later, he could do so.
The clerk quickly finished the property procedures, and Doppelganger Chen Fan took the Jade Token and returned.
Doppelganger Chen Fan and Chen Ze could share their vision. Ever since the Doppelganger had left, Chen Ze had been watching him.
This time, Chen Ze had let Doppelganger Chen Fan handle matters alone. He was very satisfied with the result, and it strengthened his resolve.
"From now on, many things can be left to the Doppelganger."
After Doppelganger Chen Fan returned, Chen Ze exchanged outfits with him.
He left Doppelganger Chen Fan in that dilapidated house. Perhaps Shopkeeper Tong would send people over again.
Chen Ze himself wore Doppelganger Chen Fan's clothes and came to the residence he had purchased near the City Lord's Mansion.
Chen Ze took out the property Jade Token and used his Spiritual Sense to activate the restriction within it. The residence's main gate opened as well.
Chen Ze entered the residence and looked around. "The money wasn't wasted. Not only is this residence close to the City Lord's Mansion, its furnishings are quite good too."
Chen Ze activated the restriction in the Jade Token with his Spiritual Sense again, and the residence's main gate closed once more.
Chen Ze walked around the residence and, satisfied, came to the room where he would sleep.
The soundproofing here was good as well, so he did not need to worry about disturbing others while cultivating.
Those 200 Spirit Stones had not been wasted. The residence contained every necessity of life, saving Chen Ze from having to purchase them separately.
On the way here, Chen Ze had already bought some ingredients.
After preparing a lavish dinner and finishing it, Chen Ze returned to his room to meditate and cultivate.
Another three days passed in a row.
During those three days, Chen Ze did not go out. He merely cultivated without pause.
What he needed now was time. He still had far too few means of preserving his life.
He did not know how many tricks Shopkeeper Tong still had up his sleeve, and now was not the time to act rashly.
He believed that Zhang Tai's disappearance would certainly draw Shopkeeper Tong's attention as well.
But Shopkeeper Tong had not come looking for him yet, which happened to give him time to accumulate strength.
The three days quickly passed.
Throughout those three days, Chen Ze had not been idle. The Automated Training Room cultivated around the clock.
He himself also spent twenty hours cultivating each day, leaving himself only four hours of rest.
The Ignition Art had already reached perfection. After its proficiency reached 5,000 uses, it advanced from Grandmaster-level to Legendary-level.
With the Legendary-level Ignition Art, Chen Ze's full reserves of spiritual power could now support one hundred uses, and its might could no longer be mentioned in the same breath as before.
Name: Chen Ze Cultivation: Qi Refining Third Layer 60/100 Talent: Earth-element Low-grade Spiritual Root Cultivation Method: Xuantian Record (Minor Accomplishment) 1/400 Spells: Ignition Art (Legendary) Breath Concealment Art (Grandmaster) 4700/5000 Earth Shield Art (Proficient) 1/200 Heart Piercing Stab (Proficient) 1/200 Myriad Things Space: Level 1
After reviewing the system interface, Chen Ze saw that the Breath Concealment Art was nearly at perfection, while the Xuantian Record's proficiency had risen to Minor Accomplishment. Everything was progressing steadily.
His cultivation speed should not have been this fast. It was all thanks to those Qi Gathering Pills. Taking one Qi Gathering Pill could reduce Chen Ze's cultivation time by three hours.
But no matter how good an elixir was, Chen Ze did not dare take too many. He still understood that every medicine carried a measure of poison.
Chen Ze went to check on the growth of the spiritual herbs. The spiritual herbs he had planted had all reached ten years of age, and some had already matured and could be harvested.
This time, Chen Ze did not choose to enter the Myriad Things Space with his consciousness. Instead, he entered it with his physical body.
During these days of cultivating the Breath Concealment Art, Chen Ze had not been idle either. Whenever he had free time, he researched methods of planting spiritual herbs within the Myriad Things Space.
The fifteen years of planting experience left behind by the original owner had given him considerable inspiration.
He discovered that some of these spiritual herbs could be kept for their seeds, while others could continue growing as long as their roots and stems were not destroyed.
But they could not be harvested like the Spirit Rice before, simply uprooted and done with.
After entering the Myriad Things Space, Chen Ze did not even have time to experience the difference between entering with his consciousness and entering with his physical body.
He immediately began harvesting the spiritual herbs. There was no helping it—entering the Myriad Things Space with his physical body consumed 1 Point every ten minutes.
With the Spirit Stones and Points Chen Ze currently possessed combined, they were not enough for his physical body to remain in the Myriad Things Space for even one full day.
Before long, Chen Ze finished harvesting the spiritual herbs, and the new herbs had all been planted.
Chen Ze checked the Point consumption. "Luckily, it only used 3 Points."
Chen Ze had no time to think further and quickly withdrew his physical body from the Myriad Things Space.
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