Immortality and Cultivation: Starting with Harvesting the Talents of Demonic Beasts

Chapter 142 Foundation Building Materials, Immortal City Layout (Two chapters combined)

Inside the guest rooms of the Immortal Inn.

Three moonstones were embedded in the wall, emitting a bright moonlight that illuminated the room as if it were daytime.

Lin Changheng immediately began to count the spoils.

There are a total of seven ritual implements.

The only high-grade magic artifact belonged to that tall male cultivator; it was the flying shuttle.

With its astonishing speed, considerable attack power, and the unique ability to transform into three, it was quite difficult for Lin Changheng to identify and block it if he hadn't possessed the [Earth Escape Demon Technique].

"good."

Lin Changheng gave his assessment: even if this item isn't a top-grade magic artifact, it's probably not far off.

Even for cultivators who have recently advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage and are short of money to buy new spiritual artifacts, this magic weapon is still a good fit.

Unfortunately, Lin Changheng possessed the "Earth Escape" technique, a rare skill in the Qi Refining stage. By shifting his position underground, he became slippery and difficult to find, thus rendering the magical artifact ineffective.

"You can keep it for your own use."

Lin Changheng checked it over and found no other traces or methods left behind, so he happily accepted it.

Currently, his only magic weapon is the mid-grade high-quality [Sinking Sandbag], which is quite advantageous against Qi Refining Level 8 cultivators, but it is inevitably insufficient against Qi Refining Level 9 cultivators who possess high-grade magic weapons.

Urgent need for replenishment.

……

The rest are all mid-grade magical artifacts, with three of them being of excellent quality.

One of them is the red silk magic weapon used by female cultivators, which combines offense and control.

The second item was the tall male cultivator's umbrella-shaped magic weapon, which was mainly for defense. However, it lost much of its spiritual power and was quite damaged under the impact of Lin Changheng's Crimson Heaven Profound Flame, which was a pity.

The third item belonged to the male cultivator with rat whiskers; it was a bow and arrow, kept in his storage bag.

Lin Changheng thought he hadn't taken it out, but in reality, the rat-whiskered male cultivator had already drawn his bow and arrow, ready to attack. However, he was shoved in the face by the [Sandbag] and forced to withdraw it, replacing it with a shield magic weapon to block. But practice proved that it was ineffective; the shield collapsed upon impact, and the man was beheaded, but the bow and arrow magic weapon remained undamaged.

It's also a good thing.

"These three are probably not ordinary cultivators. Each of them possesses a mid-grade high-quality magic weapon, and the leader even has a high-grade magic weapon. They have also set up an array..."

Lin Changheng looked at these magical artifacts and muttered to himself.

While ordinary cultivators may coordinate their efforts, they wouldn't be this meticulous.

Moreover, cultivators in the late stage of Qi Refining can only control one high-grade magic weapon with their magic power and divine sense, so most people choose two mid-grade magic weapons as their reliance, one for offense and one for defense, making them more well-rounded.

Instead of focusing on a single high-quality magical artifact, they opted for an unconventional approach.

If the power is insufficient but there is some surplus wealth, one or two mid-grade magic artifacts will be upgraded to high-grade ones.

In the actual combat of ordinary cultivators, it performs better than a single high-grade magic weapon, unless it is a situation of overwhelming strength, in which case a high-grade magic weapon can simply charge and attack, and can quickly kill.

However, cultivators who are strong in combat and have exquisite control are an exception. They can freely release and switch between magical artifacts, so naturally, they prefer high-grade magical artifacts, such as that tall cultivator.

……

Of these three magical artifacts, the red silk is unsuitable for him, and the umbrella-shaped artifact is damaged, so Lin Changheng has no intention of keeping them. They can be sold.

Lin Changheng decided to keep the magic bow and arrow for the time being. Two high-quality, mid-grade offensive magic weapons could be used together, alternating with the high-grade flying shuttle, which might have surprising effects.

There were also three other genuine mid-grade magic artifacts, but their power was too low to be considered top-tier in Lin Changheng's hands, so he sold them all at once.

……

In addition, Lin Changheng also obtained a special artifact, which was the silver needle magic tool that the rat-whiskered male cultivator initially used for a sneak attack. It was a mid-grade high-quality item with a one-time consumption purpose.

Its power was ordinary, only breaking through the defense of a mid-grade talisman, but its advantage lay in its speed and its silence.

It can be used as a concealed weapon, making it difficult to defend against.

However, there were only two left in the box, which Lin Changheng found very regrettable.

"And the tall male cultivator's life-saving jade pendant was crushed; otherwise, it would have provided him with another layer of protection."

Lin Changheng was deeply impressed by the azure light barrier. The light screen was thick and the aura was powerful. Even the best first-grade defensive talismans could not compare to it.

But it was still shattered in a single blow.

No wonder the tall male cultivator eventually showed a look of helplessness:

Unable to break through the opponent's physical defenses, while one's own strongest defenses are easily breached, how can one not despair?!
Lin Changheng quickly estimated the approximate price of the magical artifact he intended to sell:
"Around eight hundred low-grade spirit stones. If the umbrella-shaped magic artifact hadn't been damaged, it could have sold for another fifty or sixty spirit stones."

After counting the magical artifacts, Lin Changheng continued to check the number of spirit stones.

The two cultivators, the one with the rat whiskers and the one with the female cultivator, had a total of about five hundred spirit stones in their storage bags, which surprised and delighted Lin Changheng.

"Is this something that hasn't been spent yet?"

Generally, cultivators who engage in such dangerous and risky activities do not accumulate spirit stones, nor do they convert them into physical strength.

This will increase the probability of success and the chances of survival.

In contrast to the two, the tall male cultivator's storage bag was empty, containing only twenty spirit stones.

This is another extreme, spending money too lavishly.

"Could it be..."

Lin Changheng immediately began to thoroughly search through his storage bag, as if digging three feet into the ground.

A long box labeled with a superior-grade [Spirit Sealing Talisman] caught his attention.

Lin Changheng's eyes flickered slightly. Since it was a high-grade [Spirit Sealing Talisman], the value of the contents inside must be considerable.

Carefully opening it, one finds a spirit fruit, about the size of a baby's fist, entirely amber in color and slightly mottled.

With a thought racing through his mind, Lin Changheng recognized the fruit and was filled with joy and surprise.

"Jade Marrow Essence Condensation Fruit!"

A rare auxiliary medicine used in the refining of Foundation Building Pills.

Lin Changheng was thrilled; this was a good omen. He had just arrived in the Floating Life Immortal City and hadn't even entered yet, but he had already made such a gain...

"Maybe the Immortal City really is my blessed land!"

However, upon further reflection, these cultivators were all at the eighth or ninth level of Qi Refining, so it was reasonable for them to begin preparing for Foundation Establishment. Naturally, they wouldn't let go of the medicinal materials for Foundation Establishment Pills they encountered.

As a result, Lin Changheng benefited.

The remaining miscellaneous bottles and jars, pills, poisons, and scattered talismans, if put together, might be worth two or three hundred spirit stones.

As for this, he could keep the talismans and poisons for his own use, but he had no intention of taking the elixirs.

As a top-grade alchemist, he had high standards and requirements for elixirs, and he only consumed top-grade elixirs that he refined himself.

They also looked down on these pills of dubious origin.

However, there's no worry about wasting them now. With a suitable place to put them, the Black-Armored Earth Turtle can consume them and dispose of these pills for him.

"Chirp..."

The black-shelled tortoise, the size of a millstone, was released, looking rather lazy.

Lin Changheng found it somewhat amusing and tapped the pill bottle on the table. The crisp sound made the black-armored earth tortoise jolt and stretch its head to look around.

Its eyes, as big as a baby's fist, like cloudy, dusty amber, swept around with longing.

Soon their eyes met, which were slightly smiling.

"Chirp... gurgle..."

The baby turtle let out a somewhat ingratiating sound, and quickly crawled to Lin Changheng's feet, nuzzling him gently with its head. "Here."

A mid-grade pill, capable of enhancing cultivation, was flicked out with a finger and landed precisely in the excitedly open mouth of the baby turtle.

However, the turtle lying on the ground did not swallow it directly, but held it in its mouth and kept licking it.

Like a child licking a candy figurine, it evokes a sense of cherishing.

"You still eat."

Lin Changheng shook his head and chuckled, his gaze sweeping over the tortoise's jet-black, iron-like shell.

The surface was covered with fine cracks, dense and somewhat messy, and had not yet formed a complete spiritual pattern.

It's still in the early stages of Tier 1.

Once the spirit patterns are connected and form a basic whole, it is considered to be the mid-stage of the first rank.

However, the Black-Armored Earth Turtle's progress was quite obvious. Lin Changheng even had a feeling that in another six months or so, this turtle would advance to the mid-stage of the first rank.

Compared to the slow-growing turtle-type monsters, their growth was significantly accelerated.

"It's all from the accumulation of elixirs."

Lin Changheng sighed. As long as there are enough resources, even wild boars can fly, let alone this black-armored earth tortoise that already possesses the [Mysterious Spirit Bloodline].
They also vaguely understood why animal eggs and the like were not very expensive.

On the one hand, whether it can be successfully hatched is a question, and on the other hand, what will happen after it is hatched is also unknown.

The dragon has nine sons, each different from the other; even kings and generals can have sons who are not male.

In addition, after hatching, it requires an extremely long period of time to cultivate and consumes a massive amount of resources...

As for the final result, there were some unexpected events.

Wouldn't the same resources yield more obvious benefits if spent on the family's genius?
This leads to families like the Xu family, which urgently need to improve their strength, prioritizing the cultivation of their clan's geniuses, followed by spirit beast cubs, and only lastly considering spirit beast eggs.

Indeed, this is the reality. When cultivation families have the resources, the practice of training spirit beasts to protect the clan becomes more common.

……

Even after finishing all that, it's not over yet.

Lin Changheng began to use the medicinal bath to refine his body and then used the true meaning of the [Rongsheng Divine Power] to nurture the two spiritual plants.

The progress, which had been stalled for six months, will be put forward again.

Lin Changheng was busy until late at night before he finally fell into a deep sleep, completely satisfied.

It felt exceptionally safe and secure.

Had a night's rest.

Day two.

Lin Changheng got up feeling refreshed and went to a brokerage firm to inquire about renting a cave dwelling or courtyard.

He was greeted by a burly man with a cultivation level of four, rough hands and feet, who looked like someone who did manual labor.

However, after a brief conversation, Lin Changheng discovered that this person was not what he seemed, but rather had a meticulous mind and a smooth and sophisticated way of dealing with people that he had honed over the years.

"Could you give me a general overview of the available rental properties? The prices should be reasonable, not too high."

Lin Changheng smiled.

"Okay, senior, please follow me."

Fang Daming immediately got up and led the way, passing through the crowd of shops. The two of them arrived at a side room one after the other. As soon as they entered, a huge painting on the wall came into view.

However, the map is densely marked with key geographical landmarks, cave dwellings, and residential areas.

It was clearly a rough map of the Floating Immortal City.

Lin Changheng glanced at it and saw that the immortal city was clearly divided into rings.

At the innermost core lies a vast lake, spanning dozens of miles, surrounding an island in its center, used by the Core Formation cultivator "Qinglan Sanren" and his disciples.

Lin Changheng had heard of them before and knew that they were called "Floating Life Lake" and "Feather Fairy Island" respectively.

A massive, top-grade third-tier spiritual vein meanders at the bottom of the lake, but it is not open to the public.

Later, several small islands were added to the lake, which were provided for the Core Formation and Pseudo-Core Formation cultivators who were invited to settle in the Immortal City.

The details of the inner side of the lake and [Yuxian Island] are unknown to outsiders.

However, on the outer side of the lake, a high-class cave dwelling was built, open for rent to Foundation Establishment cultivators and cultivators with second-tier skills. There is a branch of a third-tier spiritual vein underneath, with a spiritual energy concentration and quality of about mid-grade second-tier, and a beautiful environment.

Ordinary monks can also stay, but the price will be increased by 50%, and the minimum lease term is one year.

Yet people still flock to it, because the second-tier mid-grade spiritual energy comes from the third-tier spiritual vein, providing a stable supply that is sufficient to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage!
Moreover, it's surrounded by Foundation Establishment cultivators and right under the noses of Core Formation cultivators, making it safe enough that no one dares to act recklessly. It's an ideal place to break through to Foundation Establishment.

That's why it was such a grand occasion.

These two areas are known as the inner lake and the outer lake.

Beyond that are the inner city and the outer city.

It is also the main body of the "market" attribute of the Immortal City.

The inner city has a number of high-quality shops, inns, residences and other functional areas. The environment is nice and the spiritual energy is of the first-grade superior level.

However, meditation and cultivation are prohibited outside of celestial inns and residences. Anyone found doing so will be expelled and have their spirit stones confiscated. Repeat offenders will be permanently banned from entering the celestial city.

The neighbors are of much higher quality, making it an ideal area to live in for an extended period.

The outer city is an enhanced version of the shantytown outside the previous market. The spiritual energy is only of the first-grade low level, and the quality of cultivators is also much lower, so it is not suitable for Lin Changheng.

"Senior, you said you don't like houses, but are you planning to rent a small courtyard in the inner city?"

Fang Daming asked respectfully.

“That’s right. I also want to rent a cave in the outer lake, but the conditions don’t allow it.”

Lin Changheng teased him on purpose.

"Although I am not good at observing, I can still see that you have an extraordinary demeanor and profound magical power. You must have reached the Foundation Establishment stage."

Fang Daming was smooth and obsequious.

"Haha, thank you for your kind words. When I break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, I will definitely come back to recommend the Outer Lake Cave to you, so you can earn another commission!"

Lin Changheng burst into laughter, not rejecting these "kind words".

"Thank you very much, senior." Fang Daming smiled in agreement, then walked to the map and pointed to two areas. "Senior, which of these two courtyards do you prefer?"

"What's the difference?"

Lin Changheng walked closer and took a look, but found nothing different, so he looked at him and asked.

“There is no difference in the architectural layout, and the distance to shopping in the neighborhood is similar; the only difference is in the neighbors.”

Fang Daming did not hesitate and began to explain in detail.

"Oh? Neighbor?" Lin Changheng was taken aback, not expecting this answer.

"Sixty percent of the residents in this courtyard called 'Qixia Residence' are cultivators who go out to hunt demons and fight; while the residents of this 'Yunjianque' all have some skill."

"Originally, there was no such concept; everyone lived together. Later, to increase the success rate of renting a place, our company offered a 'choose your neighbors' service, and it gradually evolved into this..."

Fang Daming explained, adding, "But don't worry, senior, there's no safety concern anywhere. With the Immortal City Enforcement Team around, no one dares to break the rules, except for a few reckless individuals."

"Hmm, let's go with 'Cloud Palace' then."

(End of this chapter)