I Built A Family Of Immortal Cultivators

Chapter 26: Xuan Yu Fang Market

Lin Qing found a moderately sized inn in Xuan Yu Fang and rented a large room for two taels of silver per day. This price could have covered half a month's stay outside, but within Xuan Yu Fang, all costs were extremely high. It was not easy to live here.

Lin Qing had heard before that even the simplest shop in the western section of Xuan Yu Fang required four spirit stones in annual rent, not to mention the shops that could actually accommodate people or the more expensive eastern section. As the largest market within a thousand miles, the rent in Xuan Yu Fang was truly terrifying. That was why Lin Qing had chosen Qing Mu Ji in the first place—it was cheap.

Of course, expensive naturally had its advantages. Not only did one not have to worry about safety, but as a market under the jurisdiction of the Wu Ji Sect, aside from scattered cultivators coming to purchase goods, there were also disciples from the Wu Ji Sect who came to make purchases year-round. This was a huge customer base.

The Zhao Kingdom stretched for thousands of miles, and the Wu Ji Sect was one of the three major sects with over ten thousand disciples. They controlled countless mining veins. It was a truly formidable force. Even if they leaked a little bit, it would be enough to sustain the entire Xuan Yu Fang.

In fact, in the early years, the Wu Ji Sect, along with the other two sects, jointly controlled an even larger market. But for some unknown reason, the Wu Ji Sect withdrew, leading to the current Xuan Yu Fang. Of course, these were all side stories. Matters between sects were not something outsiders could know.

After settling into the inn, Lin Qing had his meals delivered directly to his room by the inn. Meanwhile, he wanted to gather information about the current situation in Xuan Yu Fang.

He had been to Xuan Yu Fang for nearly twenty years, and he had no idea what changes had occurred during that time. Moreover, there was the matter of the Blood Sea Old Demon that he was eager to learn more about. The wanted posters at the entrance were not enough to satisfy his curiosity.

Not long after, Lin Qing heard many pieces of information from a restaurant next to the inn.

This incident had caused quite a stir and everyone in Xuan Yu Fang was discussing it. After all, the destruction of a market was no small matter, especially when it was under the control of the Wu Ji Sect, not to mention that it had undergone expansion. This was not just a slap in the face to the Wu Ji Sect; it was a complete disregard for them. During this period, it was said that more than ten Foundation Building cultivators from the Wu Ji Sect had already gone, but apart from the traces left by the fire, nothing else remained. Even if there were surviving cultivators, they had long since fled Qing Mu Ji.

It was not difficult to imagine that Qing Mu Ji would have a hard time recovering from this disaster for decades.

Since a market could be created, it could naturally disappear as well. This was not an impossible thing; it had happened before. However, those cases were mostly due to attacks by demonic beasts or poor management, resulting in a lack of customers.

But now, the situation was completely different. It was no wonder the Wu Ji Sect was so angry.

As for the specific details of that day, after listening for an hour from the discussions of several cultivators, Lin Qing roughly pieced together the situation.

This was a plan that the Blood Sea Old Demon had long prepared. It was said that when the market was expanding, the Blood Sea Old Demon had set his sights on Qing Mu Ji and sent his disciples to infiltrate it. Then, during the opening ceremony of the market, when the defenses within the market were weak, they launched a surprise attack. After all, at that time, the cultivators in charge of managing the market were busy welcoming the Foundation Building cultivators who would arrive the next day and preparing to rent out shops. This allowed the Blood Sea Old Demon to easily take over Qing Mu Ji without even activating the defensive formation, which was subsequently destroyed.

Afterward, they looted the entire Qing Mu Ji. Although there were cultivators who resisted, without the defensive formation, who could match the Blood Sea Old Demon? In just half a day, the entire market was looted, and many cultivators were killed. If it had ended there, it would have been fine since the market still existed, and there would be opportunities to rebuild in the future. But what was even more ruthless was that the Blood Sea Old Demon actually set the entire market on fire, completely destroying Qing Mu Ji, including the previous shops that had been expanded with great effort. It was as if they left no way out for Qing Mu Ji.

Some people are discussing that although Blood Sea Demon has often killed cultivators in the territory of the Limitless Sect before, this time, the Limitless Sect will not let him go like they did in the past.

Some people are also discussing that since Blood Sea Demon came out thirty years ago, he has committed many crimes in the territory of the Limitless Sect. Two Qi Refining ninth-level inner disciples were killed by him and the Limitless Sect couldn't catch him. It's strange that no one knows where Blood Sea Demon has been living all these years, and he even managed to take in ten Qi Refining later-stage disciples. This person is not simple at all, and his cultivation level might not even be at the Foundation Building initial stage.

After knowing all this, Lin Qing thought that his formation array in the inn was probably already being watched by Blood Sea Demon's people. Fortunately, he left in time. He didn't know how Li Fellow Daoist, who stayed in Qingmuji, was doing, but Lin Qing shook his head. Thinking about these things at this time was pointless.

Leaving the restaurant, Lin Qing decided to inquire about the rental prices of houses in Xuan Yu Lane.

"Elder, how about this house? The front room can be used as a shop, and there are two rooms in the back, one for resting and one for your personal use. The location is a bit remote, but the rent is not expensive, only seven spiritual stones per year." In the rental office responsible for renting houses in the west section of Xuan Yu Lane, a beautiful woman was introducing the vacant houses to Lin Qing.

But after hearing the introduction, Lin Qing was not very satisfied. "Are there any bigger ones?"

"Of course," although this woman was beautiful, she was just an ordinary mortal woman and showed no impatience towards Lin Qing's request. She then introduced three more vacant houses in one breath, but Lin Qing didn't think any of them were suitable.

"Elder, if you're not satisfied, then you can only go to the east section. There are more vacant houses there, maybe there will be one that suits you."

"The east section." Lin Qing thought for a moment, it wasn't impossible. Although most of the cultivators who could afford to rent houses in the east section were Qi Refining later-stage cultivators, he was already at the sixth level of Qi Refining, not to mention his formation array cultivation. It wouldn't be too conspicuous for him to live there.

So Lin Qing went to the east section and, as the woman said, there were more vacant houses here. Lin Qing quickly found a suitable one.

The front of this house had two shops, and behind them was a two-story building with four rooms. There was also a utility room behind it, making a total of seven rooms. It was more than enough for his family to live in, and the location was also good.

However, the price was relatively high, twenty spiritual stones per year, and a minimum of three years' rent.

Sixty spiritual stones, this price was enough to bankrupt some low-level cultivators, but Lin Qing still rented it. He had over a thousand spiritual stones in his storage bag, so he could afford this cost. He could just sell a few more formation arrays if needed. Moreover, after living in this house, the good location would be beneficial for opening a shop in the future, not to mention the more abundant spiritual energy.

The most important thing was that this price was not considered expensive in the east section. Lin Qing saw many houses with higher prices than this.

After renting the house, Lin Qing didn't rush back. Instead, he carefully walked around Xuan Yu Lane and looked worried when he finished.

(End of this chapter)