Chapter 277
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Chapter 277: Renting a House
The City of Ten Thousand Cultivators is vast and intricate.
This immortal city, composed of hundreds of thousands of cultivators, is anything but simple in its inner workings.
The city lord of the City of Ten Thousand Cultivators is named Wan Haishan, a formidable Golden Core true master, rumored to be a descendant of the city’s founder, wielding unparalleled prestige.
However, Wan Haishan spends the majority of his time in secluded cultivation within his own cave, seldom making public appearances. The actual administration of the city’s affairs is managed by fifty-seven Purple Palace families!
Each of these families boasts one or more elders who distribute power based on their strength.
Beneath the Purple Palace families lie various guilds, both large and small.
These guilds primarily depend on the families for support, aiding them in controlling the myriad industries within the City of Ten Thousand Cultivators.
Further down the hierarchy are the countless loose cultivators.
The pawnbroker that Wang Chen encountered belongs to a minor guild, and the Pawnbroker, who is at the fourth realm of Qi Training, guided him to an alley in the northern part of the city.
There, a household was offering a room for rent.
Wang Chen has now understood the reason behind the exorbitant housing prices in the City of Ten Thousand Cultivators.
In essence, it comes down to two words: safety!
The true master established the City of Ten Thousand Cultivators to provide a sanctuary for numerous loose cultivators.
Beneath the city lies a massive formation, a defensive formation connected to the earth’s veins, reputed to withstand the assaults of a Nascent Soul true immortal at its peak.
Most importantly, the formation possesses formidable powers to dispel Evil Spirits and subdue magical beasts.
Although the continuously operating formation exerts pressure on the cultivators within the city, significantly affecting their cultivation efficiency, it genuinely safeguards hundreds of thousands of loose cultivators.
Over hundreds to thousands of years, the City of Ten Thousand Cultivators has naturally become a paradise in the eyes of loose cultivators.
The city thrives with commerce, offering a plethora of entertainment, including hundreds of gambling houses and brothels!
However, outside the City of Ten Thousand Cultivators, the scenario is entirely different.
Thieves and Evil Spirits are rampant, with magical beasts appearing and vanishing unpredictably.
Even farmers residing near the outer city walls face constant perils, necessitating the organization of patrols for self-defense.
Loose cultivators and traveling merchants from outside often enter the City of Ten Thousand Cultivators in groups, with very few venturing alone.
Wang Chen’s notion of living as a hermit outside is not unfeasible, but unless he remains concealed underground, traveling back and forth between the city and the outside would easily attract unwanted attention.
This could lead to unforeseen dangers and troubles!
Considering his need to amass a substantial amount of spirit stones in the City of Ten Thousand Cultivators, this approach is not very suitable.
After careful deliberation, Wang Chen decided to settle within the city.
As for the issue of cultivation, earning spirit stones and then cultivating in a cave enhanced by spiritual veins would yield far superior results than outside!
“Lady Ye, this is the fellow traveler Wang who wishes to rent a room.”
To Wang Chen’s surprise, the landlord was an elegant and attractive female cultivator.
Yet, upon seeing Wang Chen, she frowned and chided, “Didn’t I tell you that I only rent to Kun Cultivators? Why did you bring this fellow traveler Wang here?”
The female cultivators are known as ‘Kun Cultivators,’ while Wang Chen belongs to the ‘Qian Cultivators,’ which obviously does not meet her requirements.
Wang Chen looked expressionlessly at the Pawnbroker.
Are you joking with me?
Under his gaze, the Pawnbroker involuntarily trembled and quickly forced a smile to explain, “Lady Ye, you want to rent to a single Kun Cultivator and need to rent it out quickly. That might be really difficult.”
After a pause, he continued, “This fellow traveler Wang is a talisman maker. He only wants to rent for six months and is willing to pay a high price. I think he fits your situation perfectly.”
“Besides, you have men in your household; what is there to be afraid of in the City of Ten Thousand Cultivators?”
Lady Ye replied sharply, “My child is only ten years old!”
However, she was clearly swayed by the Pawnbroker’s words and hesitated to ask Wang Chen, “Fellow traveler Wang, are you really only renting for six months?”
Wang Chen nodded, “Yes, we can create a contract.”
“Let’s do this,”
Lady Ye bit her lip, “If you pay the rent all at once, I’ll rent it to you!”
Wang Chen smiled, “Forget it, no need to force it. I’ll look for another place.”
He is here to spend spirit stones, not to beg, and he does not want to be subject to others’ opinions or accept harsh conditions.
Wang Chen did not believe that in such a large City of Ten Thousand Cultivators, there would be no other houses for rent besides this one.
At worst, he could try another pawnbroker.
Seeing Wang Chen withdraw, the Pawnbroker panicked, “Lady Ye, this is not what we agreed on!”
“I want to rent to a Kun Cultivator!”
Lady Ye shot the Pawnbroker a glare but softened her tone toward Wang Chen, “How about this, pay for three months upfront, and then you can pay for another three months when the time is up? That should work, right?”
The Pawnbroker leaned in, “Fellow traveler Wang, Lady Ye’s rental property is genuinely excellent. It is very close to the North Mountain, and there is a marketplace nearby, making it extremely convenient for both cultivation and business.”
“If you miss out, it will be hard to find something more suitable!”
Wang Chen thought for a moment and said, “Let me see the house first.”
Lady Ye’s house was a small courtyard, with a main building and side rooms on either side.
Both the main building and the side rooms were two stories, providing very spacious living space.
She offered the right side room for rent, which was fully equipped with a bedroom, study, quiet room, and bathroom.
Even the first floor had a small reception area.
The only thing that needed to be shared was the kitchen in the left side room.
The house was clean and tidy, with all the necessary furniture, basically ready for immediate occupancy.
As the Pawnbroker said, this house is indeed quite nice.
After looking around, Wang Chen was quite satisfied.
During the house tour, he also learned about Lady Ye’s situation.
She was a widow with a son and a daughter. Her son had just turned ten this year, and her daughter was fourteen.
Because of her status as a widow, she required renting to a single Kun Cultivator to avoid unnecessary gossip.
But this requirement was not easy to fulfill, as there were very few Kun Cultivators among the loose cultivators, and even fewer who were single without a partner.
Lady Ye was in a hurry to rent out, which is why the Pawnbroker brought Wang Chen over.
Perhaps she urgently needed spirit stones, and given that Wang Chen appeared quite upstanding, even though he was a young Qian Cultivator, Lady Ye was still willing to rent the house to him.
Thus, under the witness of the Pawnbroker, they created a contract, and Wang Chen paid Lady Ye three months’ rent.
A total of six hundred spirit fragments.
This was much cheaper than staying at an inn.
Wang Chen had previously inquired that a long-term stay in a single room at the inn would cost three hundred spirit fragments a month.
And it was far less spacious and comfortable than this place.
Of course, Wang Chen also paid the Pawnbroker a commission equivalent to half a month’s rent.
With spirit stones spent, he finally established a stable base in the City of Ten Thousand Cultivators.
Now he could start his plan to earn spirit stones!
That same day, Wang Chen checked out from the inn and moved into Lady Ye’s side room.
At the same time, he purchased a large quantity of talismans and talisman ink.
The Perfected Level Beginner Talisman Making skill is exactly the best way for Wang Chen to earn spirit stones!
