The Current Earth and Wood Are a Bit Fierce

Over half an hour later, as the mighty figure from the Supreme Dao Sect finished their inspection, the alarm was lifted.

People began to emerge one after another from the various sect outposts and schools.

The owner of a certain flying sword paint shop had been delayed by some matters, and upon returning, he found quite a few people loitering in front of his storefront.

Hm?

Was business knocking at his door?

However, when he saw the situation inside the shop—especially when he saw several people standing by the computer, and the computer was emitting sounds unsuitable for public broadcast...

Which god-forsaken bastard touched the computer!

As for Xu Xing, who had caused all of this, he had already exchanged some spirit stones for the currency of this era and was preparing to rent a place to stay.

In the city center, a building dozens of stories high had several large characters written on its side: [Sword Sect - Miscellaneous Affairs Hall].

Sword Province was the largest province under the jurisdiction of the Sword Sect, and a branch of the Sword Sect Miscellaneous Affairs Hall was established within Mystic Sword City specifically to handle such matters.

Accommodations rented through the Sword Sect Miscellaneous Affairs Hall were relatively more expensive, but they had the advantage of simple procedures and high efficiency.

At the main entrance stood two security guards; one carried a long sword on his back, while the other had a Sword Pellet spinning nimbly beside him.

Both were at the Golden Core realm, and hanging from their waists were white jade plaques, indicating that they were Outer Sect Disciples of the Sword Sect.

It looked truly surreal.

There were quite a few people coming and going, and Xu Xing walked inside without attracting anyone's attention.

As one of the Seven Great Immortal Sects, the Sword Sect possessed absolute confidence; no one dared to cause trouble within the Sword Sect, not even at a mere branch of the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall.

It was only because of the recent clash between True Person Xiaoning and the demonic cultivator that they had dispatched two Golden Core sword cultivators to act as security and save face.

The layout inside the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall was similar to the administrative halls in Xu Xing's memory, with a massive Mystic Light Mirror hanging above, displaying various information that flickered rapidly.

The staff behind the surrounding service windows were mostly at the Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment stages, with only one or two Golden Cores—all young, junior cultivators. One of the windows was clearly marked: [Internal Channel for Sword Sect Cultivators].

This could be considered a small perk for Sword Sect disciples.

Seeing that there was no one there, Xu Xing walked straight over and produced a cyan jade plaque.

"Greetings, I would like to rent a place to stay."

The person in charge of this station was a young woman who looked about the same age as Zhang Yunlu, and she was also one of the few Golden Core cultivators here—an Outer Sect Disciple of the Sword Sect.

[Name: Zuo Yuning]

[Realm: Golden Core]

"Understood, please wait a moment while I verify your identity."

Zuo Yuning took the cyan jade plaque and inserted it into a device resembling a card reader. Soon, several lines of text and a photograph appeared on the computer screen.

[Name: Xu Sandao]

[Realm: Nascent Soul]

[Position: Deacon of the Law Enforcement Hall]

The information was quite simple; after all, cultivation was a private matter, and the sect would not pry deeply into its disciples.

But... Xu Sandao?

No, Uncle-Master, as a Nascent Soul sword cultivator of the Sword Sect, is it really appropriate to use a name like that?

After a silent internal grumble, she confirmed that his appearance matched the photo. She then took out a square machine with a thumb-sized slot in the center.

"Please, Uncle-Master, inject a sliver of mana to confirm your identity."

Xu Xing nodded, raised his hand, and channeled a strand of mana from the Great Void Sword Canon at the Nascent Soul realm.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

Huh?!

Why isn't it coming through? There's usually never a delay like this.

Standing up to give the computer a couple of pats, Zuo Yuning offered Xu Xing an apologetic smile: "Apologies, Uncle-Master, please wait a moment longer."

Don't do this to me, she thought, I don't want to have technical issues in such a cushy position.

Thump, thump!

After two more taps, text finally appeared on the computer screen.

"Verification successful."

Phew~

Breathing a sigh of relief, Zuo Yuning's professional smile returned: "Alright, Uncle-Master, do you have any specific requirements for your residence?"

"Quiet and spacious will do."

Upon hearing his requirements, she performed a quick search and soon handed a document to Xu Xing.

"How does this place look? It is located near a spiritual vein node, the spiritual energy is abundant, and since you are a Deacon of the Law Enforcement Hall, the rent can be reduced by thirty percent according to regulations."

Xu Xing swept a casual glance over it: "That works, I'll take this one."

Hearing his agreement, Zuo Yuning took three small wooden plaques and a certificate from the drawer, handing them back to him along with the cyan jade token.

"This is the array hub. Once you pay the fees at the payment office, a specialist will be assigned to guide you there."

"Thank you."

After offering his thanks, Xu Xing turned and left.

Watching him walk away, Zuo Yuning sat down and tapped the instrument used for screening mana.

The cultivation world never lacked methods for disguise; not to mention appearance, even mana signatures and soul fluctuations could be masked.

However, this new type of mana screening system was connected to the supreme Ancestral Sword. No cultivator should be able to hide the essence of their mana before the Ancestral Sword; logically, it should provide feedback instantly, without any delay.

Thump, thump!

After two more taps, seemingly satisfied, she returned the instrument to its original position.

Her master had said that if something was broken, a couple of taps would fix it; if it still didn't work, then it meant it was truly broken.

By evening, heavy, dark clouds blanketed the entire sky, and the sound of muffled thunder echoed from time to time; it looked like this rain would be a heavy one.

The Central Continent was incredibly vast; the Sword Province alone was equivalent to the total surface area of dozens of Blue Stars from his past life, so Mystic Sword City occupied a massive expanse, comparable to the largest provinces of his previous life.

In the city's most famous residential area, uniform three-story villas were arranged in an orderly fashion, their interior layouts quite exquisite.

Xu Xing had already signed the contract and now took the small wooden plaque-style array hub, gently touching it forward.

Hum~

Ripples spread through the air, and the array shrouding the entire villa opened a passage.

This was a rather crude Soul-Bewildering Spirit-Gathering Array, capable of blocking only small animals like cats, dogs, mosquitoes, ants, or mice.

Even a low-level Qi Refining cultivator could break it by force.

It even comes equipped with an alchemy room, a weapon-refining room, a spirit spring, and a meditation room stocked with Mind-Clearing Incense, along with all sorts of other entertainment and leisure facilities.

The most important thing is that this place is under the protection of the Sword Sect; even that demonic cultivator from today wouldn't dare to strike here.

Generally speaking, it was similar to the rented cave dwellings he had used before his seclusion, but the comfort level far exceeded those days.

I'll improve the array later to prevent anyone from accidentally wandering in.

Walking into the villa, Xu Xing wandered around. Embedded in the walls of every room were several diamond-shaped crystals; these were the array bases for the array-based "air conditioning."

Also created by Saint Emperor Abyss, they could regulate the temperature within a certain range, but since the upper and lower limits weren't high, they were classified as auxiliary arrays.

After a tour, he walked to the large floor-to-ceiling window, watching as bean-sized raindrops fell and the flowers and plants in the garden swayed in the wind.

He looked up at the sky, where lightning flashed and a storm was brewing.

Suddenly!

A fist print soared into the sky from the distance, striking the heavy, dark clouds directly.

In an instant, amidst the blinding light, the thick clouds were "pushed" to the edges, as if a circular blank space had been erased from the center of a gray painting.

On the television that was left on, a construction team was being interviewed.

"Due to construction requirements, we have decided to alter the weather on a small scale. This action has been permitted by the Sword Sect Miscellaneous Affairs Hall; we hope fellow cultivators will not imitate this."

On the screen, a person in the distance slowly retracted their fist; it seemed that had been their handiwork.

Civil engineering these days was a bit intense.