Chen Qingling had only just left when the neighbor next door came calling again.
"Fellow Daoist Li, why did you take a job as a menial at an alchemy shop? That monthly pay is only a few spirit stones. You can't go on like this."
Over the past six months, Lin Shaowen from next door had often come by to chat with Li Ji'an.
Li Ji'an had always kept his distance from strangers whose backgrounds he knew nothing about.
"Needs must. I had no choice."
"Ah, then I was mistaken. I saw you spending the past six months shut away in cultivation and thought you had resources to spare. I never imagined..." Lin Shaowen sighed to himself.
"True enough. Among those who manage to scrape by in the Eastern District, apart from the youngsters, how many people our age have an easy time of it? Cultivation is no easy road!"
Li Ji'an nodded in agreement.
"Even so, you shouldn't have taken a job as a menial. Your pay will only just cover the rent. What about pills? Spirit rice, spirit flour, and demon beast meat? In my opinion, at our age, if we want to advance further in cultivation, we have no hope unless we pour in even more resources," Lin Shaowen said again.
Li Ji'an gave a rueful laugh. "I understand that well enough. It's just hard to earn spirit stones, and I don't have any particular skill. I can only find a job for now and slowly save up."
"Fellow Daoist Li, you're mistaken. Spirit stones aren't earned by saving. Just look at the thousand or so rogue cultivators in the Eastern District. Which of them has managed to save enough resources for cultivation by working for a marketplace?"
"As the saying goes, a man won't grow rich