I'm determined to become an immortal!

Kou Xiang'er felt as if she had slept for a year. She slowly opened her eyes, and a faint light greeted her. Her mind was still a little hazy, but she heard a voice:

"woke up?"

She turned her head and saw a strange middle-aged man sitting to one side.

The man looked to be in his thirties or forties, with a resolute face, slightly graying temples, and an imposing aura that commanded respect without anger.

He was holding a tiny monkey, about the size of a child's arm, in his arms. The monkey was grayish and looked rather silly. It sat on the man's arm, staring blankly at something.

Kou Xiang'er's brain quickly resumed functioning, and memories from before she fell asleep surged back.

The Lower River Branch, Wu Feng in Disguise, A Frenzied Looting...

Her nose twitched slightly as she caught a whiff of a cool, refreshing scent emanating from the other person.

The scent was exactly the same as the one of the people who had impersonated Wu Feng, allowing her to instantly recognize that the person in front of her was the audacious 'senior'.

"senior..."

Kou Xiang'er called out weakly.

He Sheng looked at her and explained in a calm tone:

"We are only a few hundred miles away from Yuanxia Immortal City. We put you into a deep sleep to avoid causing trouble."

He Sheng's actions can be seen as an explanation for his sudden intervention earlier.

After saying that, he gently touched the little monkey in his arms.

This monkey was the same one he had seen on Tiandang Peak. Despite its seemingly foolish appearance, it was actually known as the Minghui Water Ape!

The reason He Sheng wanted to capture this monkey was naturally because this Minghui Water Ape was the demon beast that matched the [Yuan Tong] supernatural power refining method, one of the seven prototype refining methods mentioned in the "Ten Thousand Demons Jointly Refining Godhood Technique".

Are we almost at Yuanxia Immortal City?

Kou Xiang'er felt relieved, partly because He Sheng hadn't broken the contract, which gave her a sense of relief.

Secondly, as long as she could travel through Yuanxia Immortal City to the territory under the jurisdiction of Tongyouming True Dao, she would be temporarily safe.

"Thank you, senior."

Kou Xiang'er quickly stood up and bowed to He Shengyi.

He Sheng was quite satisfied with Kou Xiang'er's attitude, but unfortunately...

"If I remember correctly, the Tianhai Chamber of Commerce has a large branch in Yuanxia Immortal City."

More than ten days have passed since the incident at the Xiajiang branch; the news has probably spread by now. To be on the safe side, you should change your appearance to avoid being recognized by the Tianhai Chamber of Commerce in the city.

He Sheng changed the subject and brought up the matter.

His current appearance is quite different from before. It is a combination of Wu Feng's skeleton, He Yiyang's flesh, and his own demeanor, resulting in a completely new image of a "middle-aged Foundation Establishment cultivator".

He deliberately raised his cultivation aura to the late stage of the initial Foundation Establishment stage.

This was the result of his careful consideration.

Foundation Establishment cultivators are local tyrants in the Silver Sand River, but in a large city like Yuanxia Immortal City, they are nothing more than small fry.

If one were to reveal their early Foundation Establishment cultivation level, especially if they were a complete stranger, it might cause some trouble.

Therefore, it was simply adjusted to the late stage of the initial Foundation Establishment stage. This way, at least in front of ordinary Foundation Establishment practitioners, one could gain some respect based on one's cultivation level, thus avoiding some unnecessary trouble.

"You've considered everything very thoroughly."

As she spoke, Kou Xiang'er took out a small box from her storage bag and began to put on makeup.

Although she was a maid, she had been around Lin Wanrou since childhood and had become quite knowledgeable about disguise, cosmetics, and perfumes.

In addition, she herself had cultivated a technique called "Fragrance Concealing Technique" that could conceal one's aura and body scent, so it didn't take her much effort to drastically change her appearance.

A moment later, a handsome young man with delicate features, red lips and white teeth stood in front of He Sheng.

She tied up her long hair and changed into a blue cloth pageboy's shirt. Her whole demeanor changed from charming to delicate and clever. If you didn't know her well, you would never associate this young man with the beautiful maid of the Tianhai Chamber of Commerce.

"good."

He Sheng nodded slightly, showing some interest in Kou Xiang'er's secret technique for concealing body odor.

Kou Xiang'er naturally dared not keep it to herself and quickly presented it to him.

Afterwards, the two headed towards Yuanxia Immortal City.

......

Yuanxia Immortal City truly lives up to its reputation as the premier cultivation city within a radius of ten thousand miles.

As He Sheng led Kou Xiang'er through the towering, ten-zhang-high bluestone city gate, which was covered with defensive array patterns, they were greeted by a bustling atmosphere that blended spiritual energy, the smell of fireworks, and the scent of cosmetics.

The city streets are wide enough for four spirit beast carriages to travel side by side.

The shops on both sides of the building are lined up one after another, with colorful and shimmering signs hanging between the eaves and brackets.

As soon as the two passed through the city gate, a mortal with a beaming smile ran up to them, bowed, and said:

"This humble servant, Lu Tong, greets the two immortal masters."

The two immortal masters look unfamiliar; is this their first time visiting our Yuanxia Immortal City?

"Would you need my help to take the two immortal masters to find lodging, or to do some shopping?"

He Sheng's divine sense quickly detected that there were a dozen or so ordinary people similar to Lu Tong by the roadside. According to Piao Ge's memory, these were all brokers who worked here.

He Sheng had already planned to keep a low profile, so seeing this, he went along with it, casually tossing out a low-grade spirit stone and saying indifferently:

"We are going to the West Airport. You lead the way."

If you can obtain tickets for the nearest large merchant guild's treasure ship, there will be an additional reward.

Lu Tong quickly stuffed the spirit stones into his pocket, bowed, and laughed:

"Immortal Master, you've truly found the right person!"

My uncle happened to work for the Sitong Chamber of Commerce, and three days later, a fleet of Sitong Chamber of Commerce ships arrived in port.

Most of the ordinary people like Lu Tong who come out to work are from local neighborhoods, and their families often have cultivators, or even more than one.

They simply lacked spiritual roots and, having grown up in a world of cultivators, were accustomed to the wonders and splendor of the cultivation world, and were unwilling to return to the mortal realm.

As he spoke, Lu Tong led He Sheng and the other man toward the west of the city, telling them all along the way about the city's rules, taboos, and where to buy good things.

Although he was a mortal, as a native of the area and someone who spent his days mingling with his neighbors, he knew more than the average cultivator.

Before long, Lu Tong led the two through a small alley and they arrived at the Sitong Chamber of Commerce in the west of the city, where they successfully purchased boat tickets.

The Sitong Chamber of Commerce is a super-large chamber of commerce that operates between the Northern Yuanhan Domain and the Western Xuanling Domain. It has a powerful background and its strength far surpasses that of the Tianhai Chamber of Commerce.

Its merchant ships have extremely wide routes, passing through a total of thirteen states and more than fifty immortal cities.

Starting from Yuanxia Immortal City, this ship will pass through the four cities of Jiuyuan, Chixiao, Lingque, and Tianguan before finally entering Youxuan Immortal City, which is under the jurisdiction of Tongyouming True Dao.

He Sheng wasn't very familiar with geography, after all, Piao Ge had never been to a place farther than Yuanxia Immortal City.

Kou Xiang'er, however, was very satisfied and privately whispered to He Sheng:

"Senior, this ship's route is excellent, perfectly avoiding the territory of the Tai Xuan Zheng Yi Dao."

Starting from Jiuyuan Immortal City, we entered the sphere of influence of Siming Xuanzhen Dao, and then traversed Jingzhou and Xiangzhou under the rule of Siming Xuanzhen Dao, directly entering the territory of Tongyou Mingzhen Dao.

Furthermore, the Sitong Trading Company had an excellent reputation, and accidents rarely occurred on board.

He Sheng nodded, quite satisfied.

He wanted to send Kou Xiang'er away as soon as possible, and then find a place to sort out his own situation and decide on his future cultivation strategy.

As for the broker Lu Tong, seeing that He Sheng bought two boat tickets for a total of two hundred spirit stones without even blinking, he knew that He Sheng had met a big customer, so he naturally became even more attentive.

He Sheng didn't find it annoying at all; instead, he used it to gather information.

For example, how do Foundation Establishment cultivators rent a second-tier cave dwelling in Yuanxia Immortal City, and what is the price?

How do most of the Foundation Establishment cultivators from outside the city make a living?

He Sheng hadn't expected Lu Tong, a mere mortal, to answer the questions, but he asked him a few because Lu Tong had cultivator relatives and was a local strongman.

Unexpectedly, Lu Tong actually knew quite a lot.

"Reporting back to the Immortal Master, the second-tier cave dwellings in the Immortal City are all concentrated in the city center, but they are not cheap to rent."

Even the lowest-grade cave dwelling costs around eight hundred spirit stones a year.

As for the ways Foundation Establishment cultivators make a living, I naturally don't know, but I have heard my uncle mention it a few times before.

Their Sitong Chamber of Commerce has cooperative relationships with many Foundation Establishment cultivators in the city, but the uncle said that the incomes of these cultivators vary drastically.

Some can earn 10,000 to 20,000 spirit stones a year, making a fortune.

Some people work hard all year and only earn one or two thousand spirit stones. After deducting the cost of renting their cave dwellings and the expenses of cultivation, they end up with hardly any spirit stones left.

One or two thousand to ten or twenty thousand?

He Sheng frowned slightly, feeling that the data was lower than he had expected.

Why is there such a big difference?

"My uncle said it was because of the difference in the divine arts and the level of skill."

Among all the immortal arts, alchemy is the most sought-after. If an immortal master is skilled in alchemy and also possesses one or two unique alchemy formulas, he can easily earn tens of thousands of spirit stones a year.

But if it's just ordinary crafts, such as tanning talisman paper or processing spiritual materials, one can only earn a meager living throughout the year.

He Sheng nodded.

Ultimately, it comes down to the added value of the magical arts; those magical arts that can produce finished products have a greater added value.

They chatted happily all the way, and after Lu Tong led He Sheng and the other to stay at the largest inn near the airport, "Xianyoulai," they left joyfully with a few low-grade spirit stones.

Unexpectedly, no sooner had Lu Tong left than a voice rang out from outside the door:

"Fellow Daoist, I am Feng Lingzi from Tongyuanfang, here to pay you a visit."