Neighbor Daoist Hu

The sun had not yet set when Lu Wanyuan returned to his residence.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist!"

Before he could step through the door, a voice came from behind him.

Lu Wanyuan turned around and saw a tall, imposing man standing behind him.

"You are?" Lu Wanyuan immediately grew alert. He barely knew anyone in Yangmei Market, so he hesitated as he looked at the other man.

"Sorry to bother you! I live at No. 77, your next-door neighbor. My name is Hu Yidao!" Hu Yidao introduced himself warmly.

"Is there something you need from me?"

"Nothing much, just wondering if you happen to be a Spirit Planter?"

"Why do you say that?" Lu Wanyuan became wary. He was unfamiliar with this place and had only been here a few days. For someone to know his occupation was troublesome—was this guy spying on him?

"Nothing special. I just noticed your clothes and the fresh spiritual soil dust on them. Looks like you've been working on newly reclaimed spirit fields."

Hu Yidao pointed at a small clump of dirt stuck to Lu Wanyuan's clothes.

"Oh, your observation is sharp! I'm Lu Wanyuan. I have indeed been tilling spirit fields these past few days. Just planting a few acres to earn some income, otherwise I won't be able to pay the rent and will get kicked out. Unfortunately, I'm not a Spirit Planter yet, just a Spirit Farmer! What line of work are you in?"

Lu Wanyuan glanced at him and said with self-deprecation.

"Heh, Brother Lu is too modest. Everyone starts from the bottom. For us rogue cultivators without background or foundation, being able to live inside the market is already good. At least it's better than those outside—there's some safety here. Many people can't even reach this starting point, so no need to complain."

Hu Yidao spoke as if they were old friends.

"I'm a member of a Mercenary Group. I take on missions for commissions to get by. Are you interested in joining, Fellow Daoist Lu?"

"Interested? I'm interested in anything that makes money. But with my current strength, I'd better not wander around recklessly, or I might die without knowing how. That's why I paid such a high price to live here—my life comes first!"

"But when I have enough strength, I wouldn't mind going out with you. After all, cultivation can't be done cooped up at home forever—that won't work!"

"You'll have to help me out then!"

Lu Wanyuan looked at Hu Yidao thoughtfully.

"Of course! Neighbors should help each other when they can. It's good to support one another!"

"Everyone's afraid of death, that's natural. Including me." Hu Yidao gave an awkward smile.

"Mm, Fellow Daoist Hu, did you have something to discuss today?"

"No, no. Just wanted to get to know my neighbor. If anything comes up, we can look out for each other!"

"Mm, you're right. I just moved here a few days ago and had urgent matters to handle, so I haven't had a chance to greet the neighbors. My apologies!"

"No problem, no problem. It's nothing. Your business comes first!" Hu Yidao said understandingly.

"Fellow Daoist Hu, do you know what the resident of No. 79 next door does? I've never seen him."

"Ah, him. He's a single man too. Looks like he might be an Artifact Refiner, though I can't be sure. He comes back very late every day."

"Mm, no choice. You have to earn money to survive. But cultivation—who knows when it'll ever end?" Lu Wanyuan sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, exactly. No way around it. If only we could stumble upon some lucky encounter!" Hu Yidao nodded.

"Mm, Fellow Daoist Hu, since there's nothing else, I'll head inside."

"Sure, nothing else. Go ahead and get to work!"

After entering his room, Lu Wanyuan immediately activated the Forbidden Seal.

Although the market was safe, it wasn't absolutely so. His neighbor Hu Yidao was from a Mercenary Group, and his Cultivation Realm was higher than Lu Wanyuan's—probably at the Qi Refining middle stage.

Moreover, being from a Mercenary Group, even though he tried to restrain it, Lu Wanyuan could still sense a killing intent in his eyes.

Given that kind of demeanor, Lu Wanyuan probably couldn't even last one move against him. The best course was to stay as far away as possible to avoid trouble!

Feeling the pressure from his neighbor, Lu Wanyuan's stray thoughts vanished, and he began to cultivate.

But he wasn't cultivating normally. Normal cultivation here was pointless—there wasn't a single strand of spiritual qi. If he relied on that, he'd never know when he could advance.

Instead, he planned to use up the four 'Strand of Spiritual Qi' entries. Keeping them served no purpose, so he might as well speed up his cultivation.

Four hours later, the four entries were exhausted. The Qi Refining second layer realm began to loosen, showing signs of breaking through to the Qi Refining third layer.

Feeling this state, Lu Wanyuan was ecstatic. At this rate, he wouldn't need long to reach Qi Refining third layer—probably just four more 'Strand of Spiritual Qi' entries would do.

At this pace, even Foundation Establishment felt within reach.

Thinking this, he felt life suddenly filled with joy. But he couldn't share it with anyone.

After all, a Golden Finger like his—no one could know about it. If they did, it would only invite deadly trouble.

Think about it: everyone starts on the same level, struggling together. That's fine. But if one day you suddenly have a cheat and surpass them instantly, where does that leave their face? Those with good mindsets might not care, but some would definitely feel unbalanced. Why should you, on the same level, surpass them? They might then act against you.

As the saying goes, "Easy to dodge an open spear, hard to guard against a hidden arrow."

So keeping a low profile was key—at least for now.

Of course, if your strength became overwhelming, those who envied or resented you could only show admiration.

Unfortunately, he had no Spirit Stones left. Otherwise, he'd need to buy an offensive Cultivation Technique. Right now, he only had spells related to Spirit Planting talismans—no other techniques.

It was almost 11 o'clock, and Lu Wanyuan noticed that Baili Qiuyue still hadn't returned.

He immediately got up, left the room, and prepared to go meet her—after all, it was late at night, and he worried it might not be safe.

Just as he reached the doorway, he saw Baili Qiuyue walking back with a blissful expression on her face.

"Husband!"

Seeing that Lu Wanyuan was actually standing outside the room waiting for her, she was instantly surprised.

"Wife, what's got you so happy?"

"Mm, let's talk inside!" Baili Qiuyue grabbed his arm and tugged him into the room, her face shy.

Seeing her expression, Lu Wanyuan's heart gave a lurch—what was this about?

Once inside the room, Lu Wanyuan looked at Baili Qiuyue's radiant face and asked in confusion, "What's made you so happy?"

"Husband, guess why I came back so late?"

"I have no idea. I really don't know why you're so late—I was even worried something had happened to you. I was about to go out and look for you, bring you back. The moment I stepped out, you were already here!" Lu Wanyuan answered her truthfully.

"Today, while I was doing things, I suddenly felt a bit unwell. Luckily, there was a pharmacy not far away, so I went for a check-up. Do you know what the doctor said?"

Baili Qiuyue said, a little excited.

"Mm, what did he say?"