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Ji Yuan had never seen, nor ever heard of, any Tri-color Spirit Egg.

But that made sense. A level-three building was at the very least something only those in the Foundation Establishment Realm could possess. It was perfectly normal for someone as insignificant as him, merely in the Middle Qi Refining Stage, not to know about it.

He just did not know how much it was worth... or what it did.

A Tri-color Spirit Egg—judging by the name alone, it had to be far superior to an ordinary Spirit Egg. And with only one produced each day, its effects were surely exceptional.

Then there was the upgrade requirement: the Chicken Coop had to be made from Rotfire Yin Locust. He had no idea what that was, either.

And its name carried an air of wickedness.

As Ji Yuan pondered this, he suddenly noticed that in a corner of the level-two Chicken Coop, a small clump of earth had gained several wisps of spiritual aura.

Looking closer, he saw that it even seemed to glimmer with specks of white light.

This was... Spirit Soil!

Ji Yuan immediately used the Object Manipulation Technique and collected the one qian of Spirit Soil.

If he took it to Zengtou City, it would sell for at least five Spirit Stones.

Spirit Soil itself was not valuable, but the spirit plants it could grow were.

Moreover, unlike Waterglow Dew or Blood Essence and similar things, it was not a one-use consumable. It could be reused repeatedly.

Ji Yuan planned to create a pure Spirit Soil Spirit Field for himself later on, so he had no intention of selling the Spirit Soil produced by the Chicken Coop.

Once he had finished dealing with the Chicken Coop upgrade, Ji Yuan returned to his Talisman Room to draw talismans and cultivate.

But before night had even fallen, he suddenly heard someone knocking on his courtyard gate.

Someone?

Now that Ji Yuan was already at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refinement, he naturally no longer needed a Thunderstrike Talisman to bolster his courage. He went to the front yard and, before opening the gate, roughly guessed who it was from the aura outside.

It was Wen Lin, Wen Ling'er's father from next door.

Ji Yuan had dealt with him several times and had a rather good impression of him. He was educated, courteous, and knew when to advance and when to retreat.

He occasionally went fishing by boat as well, but he also seemed to be an alchemist.

Thus, life in Zengtou City was not particularly stressful for him.

Ji Yuan opened the gate, and it was indeed him.

Wearing a cotton robe, Wen Lin smiled and cupped his hands. "Sorry for disturbing Fellow Daoist Ji's cultivation. I truly apologize."

"Fellow Daoist Wen is too polite."

Ji Yuan smiled and waited for him to continue.

Wen Lin hesitated briefly. "It is like this. I have prepared a modest meal and some wine at home tonight, and I hope Fellow Daoist Ji will honor me with your presence."

Inviting me to dinner... Ji Yuan instinctively wanted to refuse. He never attended such gatherings.

But before he could speak, Wen Lin continued, "Rest assured, there is nothing else intended. We have lived here for so long, yet I have never invited our two neighbors for a meal. That is why I came specifically to invite you. Fellow Daoist Lin next door has already agreed as well."

Since Wen Lin had put it that way, and Ji Yuan considered his neighbor a respectable man—not the sort of people Huang Laotou and Deng Yunliang were—he nodded and agreed.

A while later, Ji Yuan entered the Wen household's courtyard carrying five Spirit Eggs.

For an invitation like this, Ji Yuan naturally could not neglect proper courtesy, especially since they were his closest neighbors.

As for five Spirit Eggs, they were no longer much to Ji Yuan. The Green-Yellow Chickens laid thirty Spirit Eggs every day.

Ji Yuan had even begun trying steamed Spirit Eggs and fried Spirit Eggs.

"Brother Ji, hehe, wait for me."

Hearing Ji Yuan leave, Lin Hu hurried over with Wu Qin.

Compared with three months ago, Lin Hu was noticeably several shades darker. The childishness had vanished from his face, replaced by something... lifeless and heavy.

Only when he was with Ji Yuan, in the occasional innocent words that slipped from his mouth, could one still see his age.

Wu Qin, following at his side, was much the same. The distracting thoughts in her gaze when she looked at Ji Yuan had also vanished. Like Lin Hu, she now regarded Ji Yuan as the good big brother next door.

After the husband and wife had both advanced to the Third Layer of Qi Refining, they had continued going out on the water together. Though they had no dharma boat and never ventured into the deep-water regions,

their lives had steadily improved.

At the very least, they no longer had to worry about the three Spirit Stones of residence fees every month.

Even for today's meal at the Wen household, Lin Hu had brought a Half-Spirit Fish as a gift... It was somewhat expensive for him, but it also showed his desire to build connections.

Zhao Yuechan's cooking was excellent, and there were dishes made with ingredients as fine as Spirit Pig and Half-Spirit Fish.

As a result, even Ji Yuan rarely ate until his stomach was round.

After eating and drinking their fill, the group sat inside to rest. Zhao Yuechan brought out melon seeds and dried fruits as well.

As they chatted, Wen Lin casually revealed something of his origins.

"Brother Wen is from Blackwater City?" Ji Yuan asked in surprise.

Unlike the three market districts of Tai'an, Jing'an, and Jingde, which were all close neighbors of Zengtou City, Blackwater City was far away.

It stood almost directly opposite Zengtou City, separated by the entirety of Cloud-Rain Marsh.

"That is correct."

Wen Lin's expression stalled slightly, but in the end, he nodded.

Ji Yuan guessed that they had likely encountered some trouble in Blackwater City and had fled to Zengtou City because of it, so he did not ask further. After a brief pause, he changed the subject.

"Brother Wen, have you ever heard of something called a Rotbone Flower?"

Ji Yuan knew where to get Cold Iron Sand, and he had already bought some.

But he had never heard of the Rotbone Flower needed to upgrade the Pigsty. Now that he had encountered a fellow Daoist who had come from afar, he naturally wanted to ask.

"Rotbone Flower?"

Wen Lin frowned and pondered for a moment before finally shaking his head.

"I truly have never heard of it."

Just as Ji Yuan thought he had come up empty-handed again, Wen Lin added, "But I can point Brother Ji toward a possible avenue."

"I would be grateful to hear it," Ji Yuan said quickly.

"On the third day of every month, Shop No. A-18 in Zengtou City opens its doors. That group travels among every market district throughout Cloud-Rain Marsh. You can ask there. If they do not have it either, then there are no Rotbone Flowers anywhere in all of Cloud-Rain Marsh."

"Shop No. A-18."

Ji Yuan silently committed the place to memory, then rose and bowed to Wen Lin. "Thank you, Brother Wen."

"It is nothing. The prices there may be a little higher, though, so Brother Ji should be prepared."

"..."

Finding out this information over a single dinner was already an unexpected gain for Ji Yuan.

As for the Wen family's secrets, he had no interest in learning them. The more secrets one knew, the deeper one sank. By the time one realized it, there would most likely be no way to turn back.

It was currently the nineteenth day of the eleventh month. He could only wait until the third day of the twelfth month.

Ji Yuan cultivated at home for some time longer, saving up a few more Spirit Stones before using them to purchase a basic dharma artifact.

The artifact was called the Dragon Armor Shield. Its name sounded incomparably domineering, and it had cost Ji Yuan a full twenty-five Spirit Stones.

In reality, it was merely a basic dharma artifact made from a First-tier Spirit Turtle Shell from Cloud-Rain Marsh. It was unremarkable, but practical.

With this, including his dharma boat, Ji Yuan now possessed four dharma artifacts at once.

The White Boat was for escape, the Blackgold Blade for direct offense, the Deathbringer Needle for assassination and sneak attacks, and now the Dragon Armor Shield for protection.

Ji Yuan felt that he could barely be considered a hexagonal warrior now.

The weather grew ever more bitterly cold, so cold that even Lin Hu did not dare take his boat out onto Cloud-Rain Marsh. It was in such weather that Ji Yuan arrived at the Shop No. A-18 Wen Lin had mentioned.