Vampire Cultivation Notes

Old Liu, Old Liu, stop making your Uncle Li laugh.

"I don't need the tiger blood. I'll come back for charcoal another day. Please prepare it for me in advance."

Li Jieqing raised his eyes slightly, and stood up with the purchased materials and the remaining ten or so spirit stones.

Seeing this, Old Liu had no choice but to agree.

Holding thirty catties of bamboo charcoal in his arms, Li Jieqing was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something, turned back, and threw down two spirit stones.

"This item is cheap, it's better than nothing, so give it to me."

The Qingshui Sword, which had been hanging on the market for several days without anyone buying it, was once again snatched up by Li Jieqing, who then strode away.

……

……

"Damn it, I forgot to ask old Liu if he revealed that Jiang Wei and his wife had committed murder and robbery?"

Upon arriving at the tavern's courtyard, Li Jieqing put down his things, took out the Qingshui Sword, and suddenly this thought popped into his mind.

The massacre that took place outside Wangyue Valley that day is still vivid in my mind.

Li Jieqing lightly ran his fingers over the cracks on the sword, feeling that the missing sense of security had probably returned.

Although Qingshui is short-lived, it is not impossible to fight for it again.

Before long, Li Jieqing put away his sword and kept it close to his body as usual.

Or perhaps we should seek revenge on Jiang Wei and his wife another day.

For now, we should move.

Li Jieqing had no intention of staying in this crowded and noisy tavern to refine pills indefinitely; he had only chosen it because it was convenient.

Besides, what Old Liu just said was very convincing.

Five years have passed since the last beast tide, and a new wave of monsters attacking the market is probably imminent. It's time to find a safe new place to live.

"We currently have thirteen spirit stones. We can't rent a proper cave dwelling that exclusively occupies a spirit vein, but we can plan on a courtyard that shares a spirit vein."

Li Jieqing put down his things and, before the hour of Hai (9-11 PM) drum sounded, went out again to look for a rental shop in the market.

If things don't go well, you should make plans early.

With the beast tide approaching, the area inside the market is naturally safer than the area outside.

However, within the same market town, some areas are safer than others.

Fangshi Dongfu Rental Office.

"...Taipingfang is called a market town, but it is quite a large place. I am most afraid that my fellow practitioners will be poor."

The steward in charge of leasing came forward, and upon hearing Li Jieqing's purpose, he raised his hand and waved out a curtain of light, displaying the vacant residences in Taipingfang Market.

These are images projected by spiritual energy, which can be large or small, and the pedestrians and pavilions in the light screen are vividly depicted.

"Since you say you intend to stay in the city for a long time, you will definitely not be able to obtain spiritual energy. I am under orders from the sect and dare not overcharge. These bright courtyards and houses are only thirty spirit stones a year."

Taipingfang was established here by the Ruyi sect, so most of the managers of the market have connections with the sect.

"No need for a deposit. It's a one-year term, payable in cash. What do you think, fellow Daoist?" The manager stood in front of the light screen and asked again before Li Jieqing could take a closer look.

"It's a bit expensive."

Li Jieqing brushed past him, bent down, and pretended to look at the map of Taipingfang Market.

He didn't have many requirements for his residence, as long as it was safe and had a spiritual vein supply.

Therefore, thirty spirit stones a year naturally seemed expensive.

"There's a reason why things are expensive. Fellow Daoist, look at this place. It's close to the center of the market, yet the houses are well-arranged, with front and back yards, and it comes with three acres of spiritual land. Just growing some spiritual rice here can provide a good livelihood for a year."

"Showy but impractical."

Li Jieqing reached out and pointed to the small, secluded spot with the light screen: "I inquired before I came, and this smaller one will do."

He's farming, eating rice and noodles. What does that have to do with him, a vampire?

The steward looked in the direction the person was pointing and said helplessly, "Fellow Daoist has a good eye."

"Then ten..."

"Ten spirit stones a year, how about that?"

Li Jieqing had been in Taipingfang for almost twenty years and knew every place like the back of his hand. The residence he chose was worth at most ten spirit stones a year; anything more was just him trying to make extra money.

"Then...then as you say, fellow Daoist."

The steward, having been preemptively persuaded, could no longer negotiate the price and could only nod to get the contract.

He signed the pseudonym "Zhao Zhengqing," took the key, and recorded his magical powers.

That settles the matter.

Before leaving, Li Jieqing remembered something and couldn't help but ask, "Fellow Daoist, are you aware that a beast tide is approaching the market? How should the sect decree respond?"

"Hahaha……"

Upon hearing this, the steward who had escorted Li Jieqing out chuckled a few times before slowly saying, "Fellow Daoist, rest assured. When Taiping Market was first established over a hundred years ago, it had already swept away the eight wastelands, bringing peace to the world. Unless a powerful demon advances and attacks, the market will be safe."

"Furthermore, there are arrays circulating that monitor the entire land area. If a powerful demon were to approach, it would issue a warning in advance."

As he spoke, the manager pointed confidently to the sky.

Li Jieqing looked in that direction and saw that in the night, the snowy clouds on the horizon suddenly changed, and a semi-transparent array appeared in the air, flashing red light.

At the same time, a sudden, rapid drumbeat rang out, announcing the news to the entire neighborhood.

Monsters are attacking!

"……what?"

"This... Fellow Daoist, don't worry, you'll be fine even after a drumbeat."

Amid the commotion in the neighborhood, the manager gradually relaxed, explaining somewhat awkwardly, "It was just a drumbeat announcing that some first-tier demonic beasts were approaching. This happens every few years."

"Unless it's a second-tier great demon—"

"Stop talking!"

Li Jieqing quickly dissuaded him, urging him not to point randomly anymore, as he still wanted to cultivate himself properly.

With everything done and the drumming gradually subsiding, Li Jieqing hurriedly bid farewell to the leasing manager.

He returned to the tavern and didn't stay long. He immediately checked out of the place and moved all his belongings away.

The new residence is small, just a walled courtyard, located on the east side of the market, and there is no spiritual land available.

However, the underground spiritual veins that extend from it are not lacking in spiritual energy, and they also come with a protective formation for the house. Ten spirit stones a year is not considered expensive.

After leaving his belongings, Li Jieqing didn't feel much excitement about moving into the celestial abode he had dreamed of in the shantytown. Instead, he quickly familiarized himself with the operation of the protective formation.

During the last beast tide, many of his comrades in the shantytown died, and he fled east and west in a sorry state. He couldn't let the same thing happen again this time.

Even though the rapid drumming only lasted a few beats before stopping.

First, close the doors and windows, then open the formation.

Li Jieqing stayed in the small courtyard for a while. He watched as the red light flashing in the sky market array gradually went out, showing that it was as stable as Mount Tai and that no monsters would escape to his small courtyard.

Li Jieqing felt somewhat relieved.

The next day passed in the blink of an eye, and the monsters had already retreated.

Li Jieqing did not refine any elixirs; he simply meditated all night. When dawn broke, he put on a black cloak and went out to inquire about the demon beasts.

Before long, I figured out what was going on.

It turns out that yesterday, someone had provoked two Moon Gazing Eel demons in Moon Gazing Valley, and they were chased all the way to the outside of the market.

Upon discovering it wasn't a beast tide, the market cultivators, who had been on high alert, swarmed forward and killed the two Moon Gazing Eels. They are currently skinning and dismembering them for sale on North Street.

"Wangyue Valley..."

Upon hearing the location again, Li Jieqing muttered a few words, his brows furrowing slightly.

With both the White Tiger and the Moon-Gazing Eel, the place is bound to be a chaotic mess.

In previous years, the cause of the beast tide was mostly due to the fighting between monsters. In this light, the fact that the two Moon Gazing Eels were driven out was probably just a normal prelude to the beast tide.