"Brother Lu, what do you think of this spiritual field?"
In a spacious courtyard, Lu Xuan walked slowly, carefully observing his surroundings. A young cultivator with a scar on his face, who was at the first level of Qi Refinement, followed closely behind him. The young man bent slightly at the waist, forcing a very enthusiastic smile.
"The owner of this courtyard used to be a mid-level Qi Refinement cultivator. He went out to explore one time and didn't return for a long while, so his descendants put it up as collateral, and our pawnshop took it over for rent."
"This spiritual field is nearly an acre, with rich spiritual energy. The courtyard is next to a loose cultivator market, and there are guards patrolling the area, so safety is well ensured."
"And that chicken coop over there has been inscribed with stability and soundproofing runes by the previous owner, making it suitable for raising some spiritual beasts or birds."
"Indeed, it’s quite good, but I still need to think about it."
Lu Xuan replied calmly. Over the past few days, he had taken some time to look at several spiritual fields through the pawnshop. These fields were many times larger than his current one, with much denser spiritual energy and various conveniences.
One courtyard even had a spiritual spring in addition to its large spiritual field! This made Lu Xuan very tempted, but after asking about the rent, he quickly returned to reality. Even the cheapest spiritual fields had a rent of forty spirit stones a month, and the one with the spring cost sixty spirit stones a month, with a minimum payment period of six months.
Recently, Lu Xuan had gone from being poor to having nearly three hundred spirit stones, which made him feel a bit inflated. But now he realized that this amount of spirit stones was completely insufficient when truly needed, and he would have to accumulate more over time.
Thinking of this, Lu Xuan turned to the scarred pawnshop worker. "I'll go back and think it over. If I'm interested, I'll come find you."
With that, he turned and left. Once Lu Xuan's figure disappeared, the scarred worker couldn't help but spit in disdain. "What a joke! A small loose cultivator at the second level of Qi Refinement thinks he can rent such a spiritual field? Dream on! What a waste of my time!"
Lu Xuan frowned slightly. He had broken through to the third level of Qi Refinement some time ago, and his senses were much sharper than before. He vaguely heard the scarred cultivator's words. He couldn't help but smile, not caring about the pawnshop worker's attitude, and quietly added him to his blacklist, deciding never to ask him about spiritual fields again.
"Ah, I used to think I was too poor to even feed a spirit fragment to my straw puppet."
"Now that I have nearly three hundred spirit stones, I can feed one, or even... no, I could feed two."
"But why do I still feel so poor?"
This thought crossed his mind. "I still need to work hard to earn spirit stones."
After resting for a few days, Zhang Hong returned to the wild secret realm, while Zhang Xiuyuan had already gotten back to work. The two continued their collaboration, with Zhang Xiuyuan finding loose cultivators suffering from pest problems, and Lu Xuan stepping in to solve those issues.
With more experience, he naturally understood the Gengjin Sword Art better. Plus, his pest control was quick and cheap, earning him a certain reputation among the loose cultivators in the northern district. Initially, Zhang Xiuyuan had to actively seek out clients, but now they came to them, and sometimes there was even a line when many people showed up.
One day, Lu Xuan accepted five spirit stones and walked out of a shabby courtyard, accompanied by a grateful loose cultivator.
"Lu Daoist, what a coincidence to run into you here."
A gentle voice rang in his ears. Lu Xuan turned to see a chubby cultivator standing at the corner, smiling at him and Zhang Xiuyuan.
"What a coincidence, my foot! The northern district is so big, how could it be a coincidence? He’s clearly waiting for me!" Lu Xuan thought to himself, but smiled back.
"Oh, it’s Daoist Qin! It’s been a while. Your cultivation seems to have improved even more. You truly are a model for us loose cultivators."
"Too kind, too kind. But Lu Daoist, I must say I’m quite surprised. A few months ago, you still needed to invite me to help with pest problems at the second level of Qi Refinement, and now you can easily handle them yourself."
Qin Ming exclaimed, genuinely surprised that the small loose cultivator he once dismissed had become a competitor with impressive sword skills.
"It’s just luck. I’m still far from being comparable to Brother Qin."
A hint of nostalgia flashed in Lu Xuan's eyes. "It all started from that pest problem. After that, to prevent my spiritual plants from suffering again, I decided to invest all my savings into learning a sword technique."
"After months of hard training, and perhaps a bit of talent in the sword path, I achieved what I have today."
"However, due to my low cultivation level, I can only use the sword technique two or three times a day, which means I can only earn a small amount of spirit stones."
Given the potential conflict of interest, Lu Xuan had anticipated running into other pest control cultivators, especially Qin Ming, who was one of the busiest in the northern district.
He calmly recited the answer he had prepared, explaining that he was only looking to earn a little spirit stones for daily expenses and wouldn’t be taking much of Qin Ming's business.
"I see."
Qin Ming nodded slightly. "But now that you’re still young, Lu Daoist, you should focus on your cultivation and avoid getting too involved with pest problems."
Qin Ming looked directly at Lu Xuan, half advising and half threatening.
"Thank you for the reminder, Daoist Qin. I know what to do."
Lu Xuan replied lightly, pulling Zhang Xiuyuan away. As they walked, he felt a gaze lingering on his back.
"There are so many loose cultivators in the northern district. Why would he threaten me when I’ve already shown weakness?" he thought angrily, feeling his temper rise at Qin Ming's relentless pursuit.
Suddenly, he paused, and a thought struck him. The more he thought about it, the worse it seemed. Lu Xuan decided to stop and grabbed Zhang Xiuyuan beside him.
"Xiao Yuan, Uncle Lu needs your help with something."
"Go ask your friend who has been dealing with pest problems if he has invited a chubby mid-level Qi Refinement cultivator who specializes in ice techniques."
"If so, find out how he dealt with the black bud worm larvae after solving the pest issue."
"You're young, so others won’t be on guard around you, and they’ll give you detailed information. I’ll wait outside, so you don’t have to worry about safety."
Seeing Lu Xuan's serious expression, Zhang Xiuyuan, who had always been sensible, understood the gravity of the situation. He bit his lip and nodded firmly.
The two arrived at the house of the loose cultivator Zhang Xiuyuan mentioned. Zhang Xiuyuan called out from outside the courtyard and was invited in by a boy of the same age.
Lu Xuan held a few talismans in his hand, quietly waiting for him to come out.
As this chapter is related to recommendations, please make sure to follow along for updates! Thank you!
(End of Chapter)