The next day.
After recovering from his injuries, Chen Ye began packing up his belongings.
He originally hadn’t planned on renting a house immediately, intending to spend his Spirit Stones on cultivation.
But now that he had offended the Jade Lizard Association, staying in the slum area was too dangerous.
Reluctantly, he had to move early.
"With so many Spirit Stones, I wonder what kind of house I can rent..." Chen Ye pondered.
Renting a house, starting with a lease of at least six months, is no small matter.
Chen Ye initially planned to rent the cheapest courtyard in the Market, costing just three Spirit Stones a month.
It had a separate bedroom and kitchen, and came with a small yard.
Although it only had one bedroom, squeezing in with his apprentices wasn’t a problem—the three of them were already living in one room now.
But now, with twenty-eight Spirit Stones, Chen Ye had a lot more financial freedom.
"It seems not squeezing in isn’t a problem either?"
Chen Ye felt inexplicably regretful; this way, he wouldn’t see his two apprentices’ sleeping faces in the morning.
The apprentices were only as innocent as ordinary little girls when they were asleep.
"Master, are we moving?"
Qing Jun looked at the fire pit in the center of the room with sadness,
If we move to the Market, we can’t roast meat on the floor at home anymore!
How could Chen Ye not see through the little girl’s thoughts? He laughed, "The Market is full of delicious food. Then, you won’t even need to cook yourself."
The little girl’s eyes lit up.
...
Yunxi District.
Returning to the Market again, Chen Ye’s mindset was completely different from before.
Back then, he walked timidly, full of anxiety and fear.
But now, with a pouch heavy with Spirit Stones, Chen Ye was filled with heroism.
Through his own efforts, in just half a month, he could rent a courtyard in the Market!
"The Cave Mansions in Yunxi District are divided into four tiers: A, B, C, and D."
"The higher the tier, the more abundant the Spiritual Power and larger the area..."
"Additionally, a month’s deposit is required."
The Lingyin Sect Steward lifted his eyelids and introduced unhurriedly.
At the same time, he pushed a scroll of paintings across the counter.
Inside were illustrations of the different tiers of Cave Mansions.
Chen Ye took it and examined it carefully.
At a glance, he was greatly disappointed.
Hearing the word Cave Mansion, he thought these houses would be remarkable.
But they looked no different from ordinary homes.
He started looking from the D tier.
D tier, cheap, costing only one Spirit Stone a month. Four people share the toilet and kitchen.
C tier, three Spirit Stones a month, independent courtyard, strong privacy.
Moving further up, the B tier could be called a Cave Mansion, equipped with a Spirit Gathering Array.
But the price was outrageously high, requiring six Spirit Stones a month!
Looks like he still had to sleep with his apprentices... Chen Ye sighed.
"Oh? Is the friend dissatisfied?"
Hearing the sigh, the Steward raised an eyebrow, finally noticing the two little girls behind Chen Ye.
The girls were so short they were blocked by the counter.
One wouldn’t notice the black and white little heads without a closer look.
The Steward suddenly realized:
"If you have a family to consider, there’s another solution. The C tier courtyard adds one Spirit Stone to the monthly rent for an extra room. For six months... that’s twenty-four Spirit Stones! Plus the deposit, a total of twenty-eight."
Coincidentally, Chen Ye had exactly twenty-eight.
Chen Ye smiled, "Steward, just one room is fine."
Spending all the Spirit Stones on rent was impossible.
One must leave some startup capital.
...
The Cave Mansion Chen Ye ultimately chose was on Shunshui Street, close to the free trading area.
It wasn’t exactly quiet, but it was convenient for trading.
The entire long street was clean and tidy, with intact bricks and tiles, a world apart from the slum.
The snow on the road was swept clean.
Even the air seemed fresh and odorless.
Chen Ye stood at his courtyard’s entrance, glancing at the surroundings.
Both sides of the new home already had residents.
But at this time, the courtyard doors were tightly shut, and Chen Ye gave up the thought of visiting neighbors.
Speaking of neighbors.
Actually, Chen Ye did wish to be neighbors with Dark Old Man, so Granny Li could look after his apprentices a bit.
But it was just a teasing remark at the time; Dark Old Man didn’t take it seriously.
Chen Ye even went to Dark Old Man’s house to ask,
learning that although Dark Old Man intended to move, he needed to save money first.
He didn’t expect Chen Ye to move so urgently and had to give up in the end.
"Master, is this... the new home?"
The little girl incredulously rubbed her eyes.
This elegantly landscaped courtyard in front of her is their new home?
It’s worlds apart from the previous home with a thatched roof!
Even Zhiwei hesitated to enter.
A long-forgotten thought resurfaced.
Was the master planning to sell them?
Sell them to the owner of this house?
Chen Ye snorted, looking calm and composed: "This is indeed our new home!"
He pushed open the door with his left hand behind his back, under the expectant gaze of the two little girls.
Though Chen Ye seemed calm, he could hardly suppress the smile on his lips.
The courtyard wasn’t large but was arranged just right.
In the courtyard, the ground was paved with blue bricks, the snow piled under the plum tree at the corner, the wax plums blooming fiercely in the cold, their fragrance faintly wafting.
At the root of the west wall stood a wicker swing, seemingly left behind by the previous owner.
"You tidy up the house first; Master will make a trip to the Market."
Chen Ye suddenly remembered he hadn’t had a chance to sell Taoist Zhang’s Magical Artifact.
He initially planned to keep the Magical Artifact as a contingency.
But he forgot about the rent, depositing three extra Spirit Stones.
Now he only had seven Spirit Stones, far from enough.
After instructing his apprentices to keep the door tightly shut, Chen Ye headed straight for the Spirit Treasure Pavilion in the Market.
Generally, dealing directly with buyers at a stall would fetch more Spirit Stones.
But non-popular Magical Artifacts could take several days on a stall without selling.
Taoist Zhang’s pipe was a non-mainstream Magical Artifact.
"Sigh... If it were a sword, it would sell in no time at a stall. Why bother getting scammed by the Spirit Treasure Pavilion staff."
Chen Ye complained internally, listening to the Spirit Treasure Pavilion’s Shopkeeper ramble:
"This pipe, how old is it? Tsk tsk tsk, it still requires Spiritual Sand. A hundred years ago, Magical Artifacts were popular for using Spirit Stones and Spiritual Sand to enhance power. Its function is singular, only emitting a ray of Spiritual Light... I’ll offer you eight Spirit Stones."
Without a word, Chen Ye turned to leave with the pipe.
No matter how rubbish a Magical Artifact is, it’s still a Magical Artifact!
The materials alone, capable of containing Spiritual Power, are worth several Spirit Stones!
"Wait... The price isn’t fixed, we can negotiate, why rush?" The Shopkeeper hurriedly raised his hand.
After a long bargaining session.
Chen Ye finally settled for ten Spirit Stones, thinking he hadn’t lost much.
Only to see the Shopkeeper leisurely place the pipe for sale, priced at twelve Spirit Stones.
"This Artifact can enhance power with Spiritual Sand, allowing a Cultivator to overcome stronger foes with weaker power..."
The Shopkeeper murmured as he wrote the description, smilingly looking at Chen Ye,
"No offense, no offense... putting it on sale now avoids future grievances for the friend."
Chen Ye twitched his mouth: "You’re quite polite."
Having chosen Spirit Treasure Pavilion for sale, Chen Ye was mentally prepared for this.
Anyway, he urgently needed Spirit Stones and didn’t have time to set up a stall.
Leaving the Spirit Treasure Pavilion.
Chen Ye took a deep breath, a sharp glint crossing his eyes.
Now that the environment is stable and Spirit Stones are plentiful.
It’s time to spend the Spirit Stones on proficiency...
Those who are seemingly unthreatening might still bite!