Ambush

Thus, after settling the accounts, Zhou Changwang had spent a total of one hundred and thirty-seven Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

Seeing the sincere smile that finally appeared on the maid Xiao Wei's face, Zhou Changwang handed over the Spirit Stones with an agonized expression.

"Extravagant, truly extravagant.

With this round of spending, how long would it take to earn it back by planting Spirit Fields alone?"

Zhou Changwang howled inwardly, feeling that farming as he had before was absolutely not the way to go.

After working hard for a year, he had only earned a few dozen Low-Grade Spirit Stones—and had nearly suffered a crushing loss because of fluctuations in Spirit Rice prices... He absolutely could not keep doing this.

Even if he did not give up being a spirit farmer, he had to grow some high-value crops.

After leaving Six Directions Pavilion, Zhou Changwang had no intention of returning yet. He walked a little farther and arrived at the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall in the market.

Though it was called the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, it handled a great many matters, one of which was the leasing and sale of houses.

Zhou Changwang entered and quickly found a manager, who was said to be surnamed Bai. He immediately stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Manager Bai, I am Zhou Changwang. I wish to rent a house within the market. Might there be a suitable residence available?"

"The inner city or the outskirts of the market? How large an area?"

Manager Bai looked middle-aged, with a pale, beardless face. He merely asked blandly.

"The inner city.

I want to rent a house with its own Spirit Field. A more remote location would be fine."

Zhou Changwang replied at once.

"There are indeed houses with Spirit Fields, but those in the western district have all been rented out. Only two remain in the Southern District.

But you know as well that the Southern District lies close to the Spirit Vein, so the rent is relatively high.

One has five mu of Spirit Fields, all of first-grade upper-quality, and it also comes with a Spirit Gathering Formation.

It was originally the residence of Spirit Planter Lu, but he joined the Clear Spring Sect some time ago and became an inner disciple. With high-quality Spirit Fields in the Clear Spring Sect for him to cultivate, he no longer cared for these.

This house requires a minimum lease of three years, at four hundred and fifty Low-Grade Spirit Stones per year.

The other has seven mu of Spirit Fields and likewise has a Spirit Gathering Formation. It was originally owned by a high-level cultivator surnamed Li. His lease expired three months ago, but he never came to renew it, and he himself has vanished without a trace, so it has been put back up for rent.

Since the high-level cultivator's spirit herbs are still planted there, and some have not yet reached maturity, we cannot simply remove them. If you rent it, they will naturally become your property as well.

The rent is even higher: a minimum lease of three years, at six hundred and twenty Low-Grade Spirit Stones per year."

Manager Bai did not care about Zhou Changwang's cultivation level and simply began introducing the options.

Zhou Changwang's expression stiffened. Somewhat awkwardly, he asked, "Is there nothing cheaper? It would be fine even without a Spirit Field."

Four hundred and fifty, six hundred and twenty—his entire fortune was only about that much. Spend it all on renting a house? He had not gone mad.

"There are naturally places without Spirit Fields, but many people have entered the market recently, and the cheap ones have basically all been rented out. There are still a few left..."

Zhou Changwang slowly walked out of the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, his heart sinking slightly.

He had originally thought that he now had a modest fortune, but he had not expected rents for houses in the inner city to be so expensive.

Even ordinary residences cost more than ten or twenty Low-Grade Spirit Stones a month. Those with cultivation rooms were even more expensive, costing over thirty a month. If they happened to be situated atop a Spirit Vein Node, they could even reach one hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones...

This was madness!

He was reminded of the terror of being ruled by a mortgage.

And this place was even crazier.

This was only renting, not buying.

But it had to be said that high prices had their reasons.

Because within the inner city, there was one resource that the outskirts could never truly enjoy.

That was spiritual energy.

The inner city sat atop the Spirit Vein and possessed a spiritual energy density far beyond that of the outskirts. Cultivating anywhere here was comparable to twice the effect of the outskirts; at a Spirit Vein Node, it could reach three times the effect.

For those with cultivation goals, who wished to advance to the middle stage, the high stage, or even Foundation Establishment, the temptation was simply too great.

And they could not possibly give it up.

"No wonder the moment something happened to the Bai Lineage's ancestor, someone could not resist stirring up trouble.

The rent collected from this market in a single year must be quite a sum.

And that was before adding all the various businesses and resources..."

Zhou Changwang's heartbeat quickened.

Of course, he was merely a small Rogue Cultivator. He could only think about such things.

"I had long heard that Zhou Changwang killed an Ironclad Boar and sold it for more than a hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones. His Spirit Fields had also just been harvested, bringing in several dozen more Low-Grade Spirit Stones. He must be quite wealthy.

Sure enough, he had just come out of Six Directions Pavilion and entered the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall..."

In a dark corner, a pale-faced young man stared grimly at Zhou Changwang, who had just emerged from the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall. He bitterly thought, "I wonder how many Spirit Stones he spent in Six Directions Pavilion and the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall?

Those should have all been mine."

Gritting his teeth, the young man followed behind Zhou Changwang from afar.

He did not dare act within the inner city.

Not only were there many high-level cultivators here, but law enforcement patrols also roamed the surrounding area.

He too was a low-level Rogue Cultivator, so naturally he did not dare act recklessly.

"I heard Zhou Changwang is exceptionally skilled at pest removal, and his Geng Metal Finger attainments are not low. On top of that, if he could kill an Ironclad Boar, he must have one or two trump cards in hand. I must be on guard... It seems I will have to spend some blood."

The young man muttered as he watched Zhou Changwang step out through the market gates and enter the outskirts. He hurriedly followed, pulling something from his robes at the same time.

A talisman.

An Earth Spike Talisman.

Although the Earth Spike Talisman was a low-grade talisman, its maker was a renowned figure among Rogue Cultivators. The talismans he drew possessed sixty percent of the power of a normal spell.

Zhou Changwang had always been a cautious man.

When a fortune-teller had told him that he faced the danger of a car accident, he had not believed it, yet he had still tried his best to walk along the stone steps at the roadside... Now that he was in the peril-ridden world of cultivation, he was naturally even more cautious.

Though he looked relaxed on the surface.

This was the outskirts of the market.

All sorts of people mingled here, and bandit cultivators were everywhere.

Moreover, many mysterious cultivators from all over had arrived in recent days. He too feared being watched and becoming someone else's target.

Thus, he kept one hand hidden in his sleeve, always gripping a talisman.

Suddenly, Zhou Changwang felt a violent surge of earth-attributed spiritual energy beneath his feet.

"A bandit cultivator?"

His heart jolted, and without a second thought, he activated the talisman clutched in his hand.

In an instant, a defensive barrier appeared before him. It was the Golden Light Shield Talisman he had just purchased from Six Directions Pavilion.

This Golden Light Shield Talisman had been made by a renowned talisman crafter from Six Directions Pavilion. Though it was only a low-grade talisman, it was among the finest of its kind, and once activated, it could reach seventy percent of the spell's original power.

At the same time, earthen arrows, each sharp as hanging spikes, rapidly burst from the ground and slammed straight into the Golden Light Shield.

Bzzzz!

The Golden Light Shield shook violently and dimmed at an alarming speed, yet it continued to protect Zhou Changwang within until the earth spikes vanished.