A New Home Is Great!

"Why? Because of ghosts, of course!" Having just rolled out of bed, Caiyi combed her waist-length hair and spoke with a grin. "Didn't Senior Sun tell you?" Luo Chen was thoroughly taken aback. "Ghosts?" Caiyi tossed her long hair back. "Why so surprised? We're in the cultivation world—isn't having ghosts perfectly normal?" *Right!* *This is the cultivation world, not Earth. What am I getting worked up about?* "It's common knowledge that the inner city has ghosts, and plenty of them, too." Caiyi explained at a leisurely pace. Anyone who had lived in the inner city for a decent while could chat about these matters at length. In truth, the Jade Cauldron Domain had only been carved out three hundred years ago. Before that, this vast territory had simply been part of the Million Mountains of the Eastern Wilderness. Four hundred years ago, the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect had mobilized its entire strength to clear the mountains, sinking immense wealth into a war of reclamation in which sixteen sects took part. Among them were seven superior sects with Nascent Soul cultivators! The major sects of the other five domains across the Far East Six Domains had dispatched vast numbers of Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators to join the fray. It took a full century of effort before they finally established dominion over the region three hundred years ago. During that century-long War of Reclamation, humans and monster beasts had clashed brutally, contesting every inch of soil, with countless lives lost. In the end, it concluded with a victory for the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect. Victory had been attained, but a great mess remained in its wake. For instance, the assorted ghosts—both human and beast—intermingled so densely that the territory had nearly turned into a spectral realm. The major sects had mature countermeasures for such situations. Techniques for appeasing souls, dissipating souls, and capturing souls emerged in endless variety. As for the ghosts that were simply too powerful to eradicate in the short term, they resorted to suppressing and grinding them down over time. Even now, many of the Jade Cauldron Domain's large markets suppressed numerous formidable spirits, with no shortage of ghost generals and ghost kings beneath them. Why had Dahe Market been split into an inner and outer city? In fact, it was precisely to gather the spiritual energy of the spirit vein to wear down the ghosts suppressed below. "Right beneath our spot happens to be a suppressed ghost king. In particular, that reverse-facing room of yours sits directly over the array eye, so the yin energy runs quite heavy." Caiyi beamed as she stared at Luo Chen, eagerly waiting to see the young fellow look terrified. Yet Luo Chen was no fool. If Old Man Sun dared rent him the room and Caiyi dared live in the courtyard, that proved there was no real danger. After a moment's thought, he asked, "Is it a male ghost or a female ghost?" Caiyi blinked. Once she caught his drift, she spat softly in amusement. "It's a lecherous ghost!" Having cracked her joke, she turned serious. "No need to worry. The grand array was laid down by a Golden Core Master, using the inner city as its foundation to channel the spirit vein's power. That ghost king can't interfere with our daily life or cultivation. At most, it'll just feel a bit chilly when you sleep." "Heh, I am a grand fourth-level Qi Refinement cultivator. Why would I fear the cold?" Luo Chen flashed a confident smile, displaying the full poise of an accomplished cultivator. Caiyi gave a light laugh and rose to her feet. "All right, time for me to get to work. Let's chat tomorrow morning if you're free." *Starting work at this hour?* Luo Chen glanced quizzically at the sinking sun. "Pardon my asking, but what do you do?" "I dance at Tianxiang Pavilion. Drop by when you have the time!" Caiyi walked off with a radiant smile, leaving behind a faint wisp of fragrance. Watching his neighbor's slender, graceful figure retreat, Luo Chen could imagine how captivating she must look when dancing. Too bad this gentleman couldn't afford such luxury! Luo Chen returned to his room. After his earlier scrubbing and an afternoon of airing it out, the strange odor was finally gone. Just now, that neighbor Caiyi from the main room had even gifted him a piece of musk. She said burning it in an incense burner would not only smell pleasant, but also keep pests away. "I don't have an incense burner, but burning it in a bowl works just the same." After lighting the musk, Luo Chen began retrieving items from his storage bag. He didn't actually have that much—apart from various medicinal herbs, it was mostly pots, pans, and bowls. Some of the items still bore scorched, blackened marks. During the fight last night, half his house had collapsed in flames. Only by deploying a Lesser Cloud and Rain Talisman had he managed to extinguish the fire. He had salvaged precious little from the wreckage. The herbs he had taken out that afternoon to sort and arrange had been almost entirely ruined. Only the bedroom and kitchen had escaped destruction. The one stroke of luck was that his valuable primary ingredients were kept in his storage bag, as he hadn't yet had the chance to take them out for processing. After taking stock, his losses were heavy—amounting to exactly one hundred and eight spirit stones! Yet his spoils had also been tremendous! The first dead cultivator had yielded a set of mid-grade artifacts called the Jasper Sabers, which turned out to be wood-attribute flying daggers. Comprising one mother blade and six child blades, the set could form an array. Given enough time to assemble into formation, its might rivaled a high-grade artifact. It suited him perfectly. Aside from the daggers, that cloth pouch had contained a hundred and fifty spirit stones. It was fair to say that this single inheritance was more than enough to offset Luo Chen's losses and leave him with a tidy profit. And the expert he had strangled to death had proved even more impressive! A high-grade flying sword and a low-grade flying artifact—both would fetch high prices on the market. Luo Chen hadn't yet decided how to dispose of them, however. After all, those items were scorching hot to handle! That fellow had likely been a fifth-level Qi Refinement cultivator, yet he carried an absurd hoard of fine gear. He had arrived on a Divine Travel Talisman and destroyed the house with a Blazing Sun Talisman. He wore a high-grade Daoist robe lined with inner armor, struck with a high-grade flying sword, and even carried a Xutu Shield talisman. Add in the lotus leaf flying disc, and he had been armed to the teeth. Luo Chen had rarely seen such extravagant equipment in the outer quarter. If the man hadn't underestimated him, and if Luo Chen hadn't possessed the Soul Breaking Nail inscribed with a tier-two Armor-Piercing Array to ambush him, Luo Chen would certainly have been the one to die. Still, what was killed was killed; Luo Chen had long since made peace with such matters. Of course, considering the man's deep background and the potential for retaliation, Luo Chen had cleaned up his tracks immediately before retreating into the inner city. Those traces wouldn't stay hidden forever. Yet each day he concealed them bought another day of safety. The enemy surely wouldn't dare charge into the inner city just to kill him! No one was eager to gamble their life by defying the rules laid down by the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect. For the time being, caution was paramount. He also needed to replace the lost herbs as quickly as possible. Only by earning enough spirit stones could he escape his current predicament of sluggish cultivation. Once he had unpacked everything, Luo Chen looked around the cavernous room. "When I go out to purchase herbs tomorrow, I'll pick up a few shelves to partition the space." "I'll need to buy a winnowing basket, a pestle, peach wood, and fragrant fir wood too." "Oh, right, I have to buy a chamber pot!" Before settling down to cultivate, Luo Chen felt a twinge of nostalgia for his old place with its private yard, wide open clearing, and nearby stream. Back then, he could relieve himself wherever he pleased without a second thought. Unlike now, where the monthly night soil disposal fee alone could have covered two months of his old rent. Yet the moment he circulated the Eternal Spring Art once, all such grumbling evaporated completely. "So this is the wonder of a tier-one spirit vein?"