"Hehe! Senior, what brings you to our Gu Household?" A short old man stepped forward and addressed Li Xiaoya. He seemed a little surprised by Li Xiaoya's towering stature, then cast an equally surprised glance at Lingyu beside him, his eyes holding a strange hint of disgust.
"Oh! I'd like to rent a cave abode. Do you have any vacant ones?" Li Xiaoya asked with a smile, thinking, There seems to be something wrong with the way that old fellow looks at Lingyu.
"A cave abode? Welcome, welcome! What grade would you like to rent, Senior?" The old man brightened and repeatedly cupped his hands toward Li Xiaoya. The Gu Household was the governing family of East Xia City, and all the places on this mountain rich in spiritual qi were under its control. Other cultivators seeking temporary cave abodes could only rent them from the Gu Household.
Heavenly Lake City had been much the same. The main reason the Qi Household had been able to unite the cultivators of the Seven Families to challenge the Du Household back then was that the Du Household occupied all the land rich in spiritual qi. If those other lineages wanted cave abodes with abundant spiritual qi, they had to rent them from the Du Household. One of the terms of their alliance had been that each would receive a share of such land, which was what had brought that whole affair about.
"A third-grade cave abode," Li Xiaoya said, nodding expressionlessly.
"A third-grade cave abode?" the old man exclaimed in delighted surprise. "Could you be a Golden Core Stage Cultivator, Senior?"
"Oh? Can't someone rent a third-grade cave abode unless they're a Golden Core Stage Cultivator?" Li Xiaoya asked unhappily.
"Er! Hehe! Of course you can. That was presumptuous of me! Please