Chapter 135, Difficult Lodgings in Immortal City

Translator: StarReader

 

Master Lu, Su Chen, and the others explored the bustling Zhaoge night market for several hours.

 

Su Chen discovered a few more things at the vendors’ stalls that piqued his interest.

 

There were cultivators selling various five-element spirit pearls; a lesser spirit pearl of the five elements costed roughly thirty spirit stones. They contained various spiritual energies, and holding a spirit pearl allowed one to perform lesser magical arts of various elements. However, the lesser spirit pearls stored limited spiritual energy, enough for only a few castings.

 

Su Chen compared the water spirit pearl he obtained from the large fish monster with the spirit pearl vendor’s spirit pearls and found their grade to be roughly similar, also worth around thirty spirit stones.

 

There were also vendors selling various lesser talismans; the cheapest five-element lesser talismans were about two or three spirit stones apiece.

 

Additionally, there were vendors selling various lesser spiritual art jade slips, each jade slip recording a spiritual art, such as Fireball, and costing around thirty spirit stones apiece.

 

Su Chen compared the prices at the night market stalls and finally gauged the extent of his assets.

 

He obtained from Daoist Han Shan and Zhang Wuhui, Wanderer’s Journey, eight spiritual art jade slips, eight talisman jade slips, five or six lesser talismans, and talisman-making materials.

 

Just these eight spiritual art jade slips and eight talisman jade slips were worth several hundred spirit stones.

 

Of course, Su Chen wouldn’t sell Daoist Han Shan’s jade slips, as it was easy to be detected and lead to trouble, and he still needed to cultivate these spiritual arts and talismans.

 

And the scroll of Wanderer’s Journey: The Mayfly Chapter was probably even more expensive.

 

This particular cultivation method was simply not for sale in the night market. The cultivation methods available in the market were common cultivation methods, such as Conflagration, Mystical Ice, or Heavy Earth Art.

 

Su Chen also wouldn’t dare inquire about the origin of this scroll.

 

He had not discovered anyone selling the White Lotus Spirit Sutra, indicating it was a relatively obscure spiritual art.

 

The water spirit pearl was worth thirty spirit stones, but its utility to him precluded its sale.

 

As for the few miscellaneous spiritual items he had previously collected, they fetched no reasonable price; he could only fashion them into low-grade talismans to sell for a few spirit stones.

 

The section of spirit branch that Woodcutter Wu had felled could be used to brew spirit tea, but it was also quite inexpensive, worth only two or three spirit stones.

 

After the accounting was complete, Su Chen felt a degree of consternation.

 

The sum total of his possessions was meager; the valuable items could not be exchanged for spirit stones.

 

Only a few low-grade talismans were available, temporarily lacking utility, and could be sold to recoup around fifteen spirit stones.

 

Master Lu observed Su Chen’s anxiety and offered a smile, ” Brother Su, do not be discouraged; lacking spirit stones is normal for a newcomer! I have spent sixty or seventy years navigating Zhaoge, enduring hardships to reach the mid Qi Refining stage, and my entire fortune barely amounts to a few hundred spirit stones. Rising to prominence in Zhaoge is not easily achieved! Proceed step by step.”

 

…

 

Unknowingly, they had spent several hours wandering the night market, gaining considerable knowledge. As the night waned and dawn approached, the number of cultivators in the night market diminished.

 

Su Chen’s path of immortal cultivation had begun to solidify in his mind.

 

Master Lu glanced at the sky and announced that it was almost time to leave the night market, expressing a degree of awkwardness, “The prices within this immortal city are exorbitant, and the inns are too costly—one spirit stone per night. I have no place to reside within Immortal City Zhaoge and cannot afford to entertain the two of you. We should follow the example of other rogue cultivators and build temporary dwellings outside the city.”

 

Immortal City Zhaoge had guards and good security; no one dared cause trouble. Living in temporary dwellings outside the city naturally posed a security risk, and thieves also existed among cultivators.

 

Of course, the large number of Qi Refining Stage cultivators residing near  Spirit Mountain Zhaoge all desired peaceful and secure living arrangements. No one provoked the collective wrath of the populace nor caused trouble in Spirit Mountain Zhaoge.

 

The greatest advantage of living outside the city was that it was free of charge.

 

Su Chen, Woodcutter Wu, and the others were all quite impoverished and naturally concurred, suggesting they find a place of clear waters and verdant hills on Spirit Mountain Zhaoge to settle down.

 

“The spirit wood on Spirit Mountain Zhaoge all has owners, it cannot be felled. Come, let’s go to the forest thirty miles away and cut some back. I’ll hire a large carriage to haul the wood back to Spirit Mountain Zhaoge.”

 

“Leave the felling of wood to me.”

 

Woodcutter Wu found his place to be useful and immediately slapped his chest.

 

Four out of the five of them were cultivators, and Woodcutter Wu was skilled in felling wood. Cutting several large carriages full of wood and hauling them back to Spirit Mountain Zhaoge to build simple dwellings was a manageable task.

 

The dwellings did not require much in the way of refinement; ordinary, sturdy wood would suffice.

 

It took only two or three days for them to carve out a flat area on Spirit Mountain Zhaoge and erect three wooden houses.

 

Su Chen and Ah Nu shared one dwelling, Master Lu and his young attendant Xiao Zhang shared one, and Woodcutter Wu had one to himself. They were situated adjacent to one another, allowing for support and assistance when needed.

 

…

 

Once the dwellings for permanent settlement were constructed, several of them went to Immortal City Zhaoge to find work.

 

Woodcutter Wu reverted to his old trade.

 

Immortal City Zhaoge had alchemy workshops and item refining workshops that required large quantities of inferior first-grade spirit wood to be made into spirit charcoal for burning—a fuel that burned hot and was durable.

 

One might consider felling spirit wood to be a simple task, but it was not something anyone could accomplish.

 

The bark of spirit wood was as hard as iron, and ordinary Qi Refining Stage cultivators may not be able to fell it. Even if they could, they would quickly deplete their spiritual energy, and the process would be extremely time-consuming. Burning inferior first-grade spirit wood into charcoal was worth several spirit stones. Superior first-grade spirit wood was even more valuable but far too difficult to fell.

 

This labor was arduous, a true test of brute strength.

 

Woodcutter Wu did not use cultivation methods, nor did he practice spiritual arts, nor did he enjoy doing other things. He spent every day going into the mountains to fell trees, transporting the spirit wood back to Immortal City Zhaoge.

 

Felling trees was the best cultivation for him. If he could fell a low-grade spirit wood, trading fifteen spirit stones for a half a kilogram or so of spirit grain would be enough to feed him.

 

Master Lu seemed a little sullen. He had been mixed up in Immortal City Zhaoge for sixty or seventy years, experienced and with an absolutely discerning eye; he was accurate in judging people and objects.

 

But the problem was that his fortune was too ill-fated; whatever he did, he would encounter all sorts of bad luck, and doing business would result in losses nine times out of ten.

 

This very much troubled him.

 

But no matter how difficult it was, he had to do it. He brought his junior attendant, looking for business opportunities every day in Immortal City Zhaoge. The competition in Immortal City Zhaoge’s night market was fierce, and the profits from doing business were low; there were not many individuals who could truly earn spirit stones.

 

If it was truly impossible, he had some connections in Zhaoge and would find a job to do.

 

Su Chen had intended to do business, but he lacked the capital to do so. He then searched for three days in Immortal City Zhaoge, wanting to see if there were any suitable jobs, working for a few months to earn some capital to do business.

 

But the result of this search made him very disappointed.

 

“Working in the Song Clan’s spirit grain garden, tending to spirit grain, three spirit stones a month!” The steward of the Song Clan saw Su Chen was a new rogue cultivator and was looking to grant him a job, a pity of a handout.

 

Su Chen looked at the steward’s arrogant face and turned away.

 

After searching for several days, it was indeed as Master Lu said; early Qi Refining rogue cultivators seeking work in shops, workshops, and spirit grain gardens could earn at most three or five spirit stones a month, and it was difficult to earn enough to cover their cultivation expenses.

 

Su Chen was completely disappointed, naturally unwilling to be exploited in this way by the Immortal City Zhaoge’s cultivstor clans.

 

The only remaining path was to be a small vendor like Master Lu, setting up a stall and doing a little small business.

 

But business required a certain amount of capital; otherwise, it was impossible to do.

 

…

 

This day, Su Chen returned to the wooden hut where he resided, and Ah Nu had prepared the meal, waiting for him to return.

 

This meal consisted of the usual mortal rice and vegetables, which could be bought with silver.

 

After all, many mortals in Immortal City Zhaoge didn’t have spirit stones, and couldn’t afford spirit grain. Even Qi Refining Stage cultivators could’t afford to eat spirit grain and spirit meat every day.

 

Qi Refining cultivators, every few days, occasionally got to eat a meal of spirit grain, and that was already quite good.

 

Ah Nu saw Su Chen in a taciturn mood; evidently he hadn’t managed to find suitable work today.

 

“Young Master, this is a new dish I learned; try the taste!”

 

She also felt a bit worried for Su Chen and supplemented his meal.

 

Su Chen finished eating, smiled, and comforted her, “Don’t worry, there will always be a way. Today, I won’t go out; I’ll go inside.”

 

…

 

Su Chen was in the wooden hut, alone in his bedroom, sitting cross-legged, pondering how to proceed.

 

During these days in Immortal City Zhaoge, he hadn’t heard Master Lu and others mention Spirit Mountain within his Muddy Palace Grain. This greatly puzzled him, but he had to swallow it down and would find an opportunity to study it later.

 

Without capital, it was difficult to do business.

 

He cheaply sold the few low-level talismans left by Daoist Han Shan on the night market, and exchanged them for ten spirit stones. What could this amount of spirit stones be used for?! It certainly wasn’t enough for business.