Finding a Craftsman and Upgrading the Chicken Coop

After leaving the Luozhen Sect,

Li Yunjing stuck two Breeze Talismans on himself.

Then he hurried to Xunxian Town.

Back in Xunxian Town once more,

Li Yunjing followed White Cloud Long Street to Hundred Crafts Alley.

Craftsmen with all sorts of skills gathered in Hundred Crafts Alley.

Building, repairing, crafting...

Li Yunjing wanted to repair the Alchemy Chamber and cultivation room.

This was the easiest place to find craftsmen.

As soon as he entered Hundred Crafts Alley,

Li Yunjing saw a bustling scene.

Some people held up signs, loudly describing what they needed.

In front of them, crowds of people stood with their hands raised high.

They eagerly told the people before them about themselves,

hoping to be chosen and get some work.

The scene seemed somewhat familiar to Li Yunjing.

It was just like the labor markets in his previous life.

He had only walked a few steps when a boy of about ten suddenly stopped him.

"S-Senior, may I ask... y-you..."

Whether the boy was too nervous or something else, Li Yunjing couldn't tell.

Facing Li Yunjing, he couldn't get a complete sentence out.

Li Yunjing glanced at the boy.

His clothes were plain,

with signs of mending, and their color had faded badly from being worn for so long.

"Do you know where I can find someone to repair an Alchemy Chamber and a cultivation room?"

Li Yunjing asked the boy with a kindly smile.

The boy's face immediately flushed red.

"Senior, my grandpa can do it!"

He was so excited that he stopped stammering.

Li Yunjing was surprised. His casual question had actually borne fruit.

He asked the boy to lead the way.

The boy led Li Yunjing through Hundred Crafts Alley.

Then they went to the shantytown in Xunxian Town.

Rogue Cultivators lived throughout the shantytown.

They turned left and right through the shantytown.

If they hadn't still been in Xunxian Town,

Li Yunjing would have thought the boy was leading him into a trap somewhere.

At last, Li Yunjing followed the boy to a stop in front of an ordinary house.

"Senior, my grandpa is inside."

The boy stepped forward and pushed open the door.

Li Yunjing released his Divine Sense, and only after confirming there was no danger did he enter.

He stepped into a small courtyard.

An old man sat there at his leisure, puffing clouds of smoke.

The old man was startled when he saw Li Yunjing.

"Senior, what brings you...?"

The old man could sense that Li Yunjing's cultivation was far higher than his own.

Not daring to be careless, he hurried to his feet.

The boy ran over to the old man after coming in.

"Grandpa, I found you a big job!"

The old man was even more surprised.

What big job? Does it have something to do with this young cultivator?

Li Yunjing first glanced around the courtyard, then said,

"I want to repair an Alchemy Chamber and a cultivation room, and build a few new structures while we're at it.

I just met your grandson in Hundred Crafts Alley. He said you could do it. Is that true?"

The old man immediately glared at his grandson.

Then a smile appeared on his face.

"To answer you, Senior, I can indeed repair an Alchemy Chamber and a cultivation room, but I haven't done that sort of work in a long time. I'm afraid I might botch the job for you."

Li Yunjing narrowed his eyes.

The old man continued,

"I hope you won't laugh at me, Senior, but I'm short of Spirit Stones right now.

Although I haven't done this sort of work in a long time, I still have my skills.

I'm confident I can help you, Senior. Please give me a chance."

Li Yunjing considered it.

The man before him was old,

but that was a good thing too.

His age meant he had plenty of experience.

For skills like repair work,

the more experience he had, the higher his chances of success would naturally be.

"What if you fail?" Li Yunjing asked.

The old man was taken aback. "If I fail, I can introduce you to someone else, Senior. You won't have to pay a thing; I'll have worked for you for free."

After some thought, Li Yunjing said,

"All right, then. You're hired."

Li Yunjing first tossed him five low-grade Spirit Stones.

"That's your deposit. Take it for now, and I'll pay you the rest when the work is done."

The old man was thrilled to receive five low-grade Spirit Stones.

"I still don't know your name, Senior."

Li Yunjing said, "I am Li Yunjing, sect master of the Luozhen Sect. Come to the Luozhen Sect later. I'll be waiting for you there."

With that, Li Yunjing left.

The old man stood rooted to the spot.

"The Luozhen Sect... that Luozhen Sect in Serene Valley..."

The old man was surprised.

He hadn't expected the young man to be the sect master of the Luozhen Sect.

But hadn't the Luozhen Sect fallen on hard times?

Why was he repairing an Alchemy Chamber and a cultivation room?

Wasn't that wasted effort?

The old man couldn't make sense of it.

In any case, he had work now.

"It's time to go gather my old mates. If we can use this chance to make a name for ourselves, life will be much easier from now on."

Meanwhile, Li Yunjing walked down the street.

He thought as he walked.

The Luozhen Sect had few Spirit Stones in reserve at present.

There would be plenty of places to spend Spirit Stones in the future.

For now, the Luozhen Sect had too few ways to earn Spirit Stones.

Although the Spirit Fields could bring the Luozhen Sect quite a few Spirit Stones,

the cycle was too long.

It would take at least a few months for the Golden Jade Rice to mature.

Aside from the Spirit Fields, the only things that could earn Spirit Stones were the spirit eggs produced by the Chicken Coop.

Li Yunjing thought about raising the Chicken Coop's level first.

If it could produce more spirit eggs each day,

he could sell them to earn Spirit Stones.

As for the other buildings,

he would upgrade them if he had Spirit Stones to spare.

If not, he could only wait.

He recalled the requirements for upgrading the Chicken Coop to Lv2.

A chicken pen made from hundred-year-old paulownia wood and five taels of low-grade Spirit Stone powder.

Hundred-year-old paulownia wood was a first-grade spirit wood.

Its price was reasonable.

Three chi of hundred-year-old paulownia wood sold for one low-grade Spirit Stone.

To make it into a chicken pen,

Li Yunjing made a quick estimate.

Even for the smallest chicken pen,

it would take at least twenty low-grade Spirit Stones.

As for the Spirit Stone powder, roughly twelve Spirit Stones would have to be ground up to make it.

The total cost would be at least thirty-two low-grade Spirit Stones.

Fortunately, he still had plenty of Spirit Stones left, more than enough to cover it.

Having made up his mind, Li Yunjing turned and entered a spirit materials shop called the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

The Hundred Treasures Pavilion was also backed by the Immortal Alliance.

As soon as Li Yunjing entered Hundred Treasures Pavilion, a shop assistant came over to attend to him.

The assistant knew Li Yunjing quite well.

He greeted him as soon as they met.

"Greetings, Sect Leader Li."

"Mm." Li Yunjing nodded.

"What would you like today, Sect Leader Li?"

Zhao Hui promptly led Li Yunjing to a seat nearby.

Li Yunjing said, "Sixty chi of hundred-year-old paulownia wood and five taels of Spirit Stone powder."

"Oh, and I intend to use the paulownia wood to make a chicken pen. Make sure your Hundred Treasures Tower processes it for me."

As Zhao Hui listened, he calculated the cost in his head.

"Sect Leader Li, what you want will only cost thirty-eight low-grade Spirit Stones."

Li Yunjing readily took out thirty-eight low-grade Spirit Stones.

"Please wait a moment, Sect Leader Li."

Zhao Hui took the Spirit Stones and left.

Li Yunjing sat drinking tea and waited quietly.

As he waited, he heard the cultivators around him discussing the Golden Core cave abode that had appeared in Tiger Leaping Gorge.

Li Yunjing thought of Mo Xuan and Shui Yao.

He prayed once more for the two of them to be safe.

Soon, Zhao Hui returned.

He brought what Li Yunjing needed.

Both items had been placed in a Storage Bag.

Li Yunjing took out his own Storage Bag,

then pointed its opening at the Storage Bag in Zhao Hui's hand.

Both items were drawn into Li Yunjing's Storage Bag.

"Sect Leader Li, would you like to earn a little extra?"

Zhao Hui put away the Storage Bag and looked at Li Yunjing with a grin.

Li Yunjing glanced at Zhao Hui, curious.

"What kind of extra?"

"Our shopkeeper recently took an order for thirty Seven Absolutes Grass plants.

As you know, Seven Absolutes Grass only grows at Soul Severing Cliff.

Soul Severing Cliff is a little dangerous, but with your abilities, Sect Leader Li, I don't suppose it would be too much for you.

If you dig up thirty Seven Absolutes Grass plants, our shopkeeper is willing to pay this much."

Zhao Hui held out his right hand and spread all five fingers.

"Fifty low-grade Spirit Stones?"