Unfounded Friends, Leveraging Power

In the magic tool shop at the east end of the Gathering Place, Chen Dengming exchanged one Spirit Grain to retrieve his pawned Luo Family Token, then returned all his rented fishing gear to the merchant Master Hu.

Master Hu disliked being called Immortal Master and preferred to be called Master Hu, carrying himself with a bold, martial-world swagger. He was arguably the most approachable cultivator Chen Dengming had met—though that was likely because Chen had produced the Luo Family Waist Token. With ordinary Xiantian, he might not have been so easygoing.

He ran magic tool shops in both the east and south of the city, and rumor had it he was a member of the Iron Alliance. The Iron Alliance was a mid-tier faction among the dozen or so powers in the Gathering Place, neutral in stance, and mostly composed of merchants.

"Little Chen, not selling fish anymore?"

In the shop, Master Hu handed the Luo Family Waist Token to Chen Dengming with one hand while casually accepting the Spirit Grain with the other, a pipe clamped between his teeth as he blew out smoke and chuckled.

Chen Dengming sighed and shook his head. "Master Hu, with Demon Beasts stirring outside the Gathering Place now, how dare I go out fishing? Besides, Spirit Fish aren't easy to catch. I'll have to give it up."

Master Hu nodded slightly, then suddenly glanced at the broken blade on Chen Dengming's back. "Blade broke? Got into a fight? Want to pick a magic tool here to defend yourself?"

Chen Dengming's heart leaped, but he quickly smiled and waved his hand. "My purse is empty, truly empty! If I ever become a cultivator, I'll definitely come to you, Master Hu, to commission a magic tool."

With a few more pleasantries, he stepped out the door, wiping the Luo Family Waist Token in his hand again and again before tucking it safely away.

After this incident, he swore he would never pawn that token again.

If he'd been carrying the token by the lake earlier, showing it might have kept that old cultivator from Golden Character Workshop from making trouble, and he wouldn't have had to risk his life fighting for it.

Still, as things stood, he had no regrets—in fact, he felt a secret thrill. At the same time, he now had a clear, preliminary understanding of his actual combat strength.

If he ambushed someone with Gu poison and the Blood Centipede Gu in the shadows, an ordinary Qi Refining First Layer cultivator probably wouldn't be his match.

But in a head-on fight, if the cultivator was on guard, his odds against a Qi Refining First Layer were about sixty-forty.

That old cultivator he'd killed that day was likely stronger than Qi Refining First Layer—otherwise, he wouldn't have wielded a magic tool so skillfully. According to Master Hu, ordinary Qi Refining First Layer cultivators barely had enough spiritual energy to control magic tools, so they had little need for them.

Against someone of that old cultivator's caliber, if he was wary of Chen's Gu worms, killing him would be nearly impossible. One misstep and Chen would die himself, unable to escape—light-footed speed was no match for a magic tool's speed.

The spiritual energy that cultivators commanded was far too powerful. Compared to Xiantian True Qi, it was like the gap between an iron hammer and a wooden hammer—the iron hammer could shatter the wooden one with ease.

In that fight, if the Blood Centipede Gu hadn't devoured the enemy's spiritual energy and bitten through the Golden Bell Qi Shield he'd condensed, Chen's ultimate move, the Green Hill Mad Dragon, alone would never have breached his defense, and he'd have died for sure.

And if the Blood Centipede Gu hadn't helped him purge the spiritual energy from his body afterward, even if he survived, his meridians would have been shattered, leaving him crippled.

No wonder cultivators always looked down on mortals, even Xiantian, with utter contempt.

The power each side wielded was fundamentally different in nature and intensity.

"Next, I'll lie low and focus on cultivation. I need to become a cultivator as soon as possible."

Chen Dengming calculated silently as he quickly made his way to the Golden Character Workshop district near Zanhua Tower.

Both Golden Character Workshop and Hutong Street controlled most of the housing rental rights in the Gathering Place.

If you wanted to rent a place to live, you couldn't avoid Golden Character Workshop.

Chen Dengming had no intention of avoiding it either. He understood the principle of hiding in plain sight better than anyone.

He'd killed a cultivator from Golden Character Workshop, so now he'd stick as close to them as possible.

Even if they started investigating the old cultivator's death, they'd first check their enemies and suspicious parties. Who would notice an ordinary Xiantian mortal on their own turf?

Housing was an extremely important and high-demand resource—no different in any world.

By the time Chen Dengming arrived, quite a few Xiantian and mortals were already queuing up to pay and rent houses.

Cultivators were also queuing to rent, but in a separate area, attended by mortals who served them tea and water, like a VIP section.

The cultivator handling the rentals was the same Qi Refining First Layer cultivator who'd given Chen Dengming the fishing job before. He sized Chen up with a faint smile.

"The fish seller? Caught a Spirit Fish and saved up enough for rent that fast? Did you honestly hand over half the fish?"

Chen Dengming cupped his fists politely and smiled. "Immortal Master, you misunderstand. I didn't catch any Spirit Fish. It's too dangerous outside the Gathering Place now, and I don't want to take the risk. I've borrowed some Spirit Grains and plan to rent a room first."

As he spoke, he pulled his hand from his sleeve, revealing a Spirit Grain the size of a rice grain, shimmering with hazy light.

That single grain was enough to exchange for a month's rent on the cheapest shack in the Rogue Cultivator Zone.

In the shadows not far away, many eyes fixed on the Spirit Grain in Chen Dengming's hand, flickering with intent, lingering on his face. Someone muttered, "Old Shed Street Fish Seller." "Suddenly came into money?" "No such luck."

The cultivator handling the business squinted, his smile not reaching his eyes. "Such good-quality Spirit Grain. Not bad. You haven't been in the Gathering Place long, have you? Someone that close to you, willing to lend you Spirit Grain?"

Chen Dengming was prepared. Smiling, he pulled out the waist token he'd gotten from Fairy Lüo. "Immortal Master has sharp eyes. To be honest, I was directed here by someone to settle down. These past days have been hard, so I had to ask some friends for help. I hope the Immortal Master will look after me."

"Oh?"

The cultivator's gaze sharpened, his enigmatic expression vanishing instantly, his smile stiffening. "So you have connections. No wonder."

Almost at the same time, the flickering gazes in the distance all withdrew, and even the people around Chen Dengming seemed friendlier.

"Looks like the Luo Family Token is really useful."

Chen Dengming noted the subtle shift, muttering to himself as his mood relaxed.

Still, even with the token, he had to pay the Spirit Grain—no discounts or privileges.

But clearly, anyone with ill intent or ulterior motives would have to think twice.

Chen Dengming was clever. He only said he'd been directed here by someone from the Luo family and had borrowed Spirit Grains from some friends.

That was the art of language. Hearing his words, people would naturally connect the two, assuming he had friends in the Luo family willing to lend him Spirit Grain—meaning they were close.

After all, no matter where you are, someone who won't lend you money might still be a good friend, but someone who does absolutely considers you a close one.

That way, even if Chen Dengming suddenly produced Spirit Grain from an unclear source, no one would dare go to the Luo family to ask around.

Even if they did, the one who'd directed him here was Eldest Miss Lüo herself. What rogue cultivator had the nerve or the clout to bother Eldest Miss Lüo over a single Spirit Grain?

And if someone actually traced it back to Eldest Miss Lüo, that would play right into Chen Dengming's hands—it meant he might successfully borrow her influence, and anyone looking for trouble would likely back off.