Divine Transcendence

"Indeed, let’s settle on this one, number 85 on Ma Ti Alley in the eastern part of the city," Yuan Ming handed back the jade slip and said.

This house was somewhat secluded, with a yearly rent of one hundred and fifty spirit stones.

"The fellow Daoist has a good eye. This house not only faces the street but also has a good size and layout. It can be used for both business and as a residence for cultivation. Truly, the best of both worlds," the white-robed cultivator remarked.

"Here is the first year’s rent. I am Hu Tu, a rogue cultivator from the Yue country," Yuan Ming thought it more economical to rent a house than to spend a spirit stone every day on expenses and lodging, so he took out a small bag of spirit stones and placed them on the table.

The white-robed cultivator counted the stones efficiently, not bothering to inquire further about "Hu Tu’s" background. He handed over a key and a residence token with Hu Tu’s name on it that proved his residence in Xiaohu City, and said, "You are free to alter the interior of the dwelling as you wish, but do not tamper with the walls. The bricks and stones of the houses in our city are specially made to prevent prying and will require compensation at market price if damaged."

Indeed, quality comes at a price.

"Thank you for your time," Yuan Ming responded, taking the key and standing to leave.

He first strolled around the market, spending fifty spirit stones on two simple protective arrays for his dwelling, before heading east.

Upon reaching Ma Ti Alley, he found it more secluded than he had imagined, with few passersby.

Yuan Ming quickly located house number 85.

The house was street-facing, with a garden in the back and two inner rooms. The layout and environment were indeed quite nice.

However, the house had been unoccupied for a long time and was covered in a layer of dust.

After cleaning up, Yuan Ming sat down in one of the inner rooms, but then thought better of it and headed back to the rental place.

He quickly returned to the rental location.

Using the name Ha Gong, Yuan Ming rented the house across the street, number 86. This time, he used an illusion to swiftly complete the rental process and left with the token.

Having offended Changchun Temple, he spared no expense in preparing an additional residence for emergencies, spending another hundred spirit stones on a short-range teleportation array, into which he placed three spirit stones.

After setting up the teleportation arrays in both houses, Yuan Ming returned to house number 86.

The layout was the same as number 85, and he chose an inner room as his cultivation space, setting up a complete protective array there.

As for the other array, he set it up around the entire backyard, creating a dual layer of defense.

By the time he finished, it was already dark.

Yuan Ming looked at his day’s work with satisfaction. Although still somewhat simple, he finally had a decent place to live and began planning his cultivation.

For him, the most important thing was to improve his cultivation. Although the Nine Elements Formula was impressive, cultivation at the Foundation Establishment stage was still slow. Elixirs and spiritual incense could naturally double the effect.

Although he had already purchased a batch of Four Spirits Elixirs, such Foundation Establishment stage elixirs were indeed expensive. With his current supply of spirit stones, he would soon run out if he didn’t find a way to earn more.

He rented these two street-facing shops with this in mind.

Yuan Ming pondered his current skills and, after much consideration, decided to make and sell spiritual incense.

He had seen in the market the day before that there were no shops selling spiritual incense.

Spiritual incense was not valued in the Southern Border, and likely the same in Great Jin, but he believed this was largely due to the sales philosophy of Xuanhua Zhenren. Although the effect was inferior to elixirs of the same price, the auxiliary benefits of spiritual incense were actually quite good.

In a cultivation world like Great Jin, there were always cultivators and sects with plenty of spirit stones, just lacking promotion.

With the few types of spiritual incense he currently mastered, as long as he operated properly, earning spirit stones should not be difficult.

In the long run, now that his cultivation had reached the Foundation Establishment stage, it would be easier to influence others by burning incense and attaching to Xuanhua Zhenren, learning to make new spiritual incense without worrying about not being able to introduce new products. He would eventually learn all of Xuanhua Zhenren’s skills.

Yuan Ming returned to house number 85 via the teleportation array, went out to purchase materials for making spiritual incense, and items needed to set up a shop like counters and shelves, and began to recruit a shopkeeper.

***

Ten days later, a brand-new shop opened at number 85 Ma Ti Alley: "Xuanhua Spiritual Incense Shop."

The shopkeeper, named Mu Yang, was a third-level Qi refining cultivator Yuan Ming had recruited. After some investigation, Yuan Ming learned that his master was a rogue cultivator who had passed away and he knew a few low-level earth spells. Yuan Ming hired him for ten spirit stones a month to open the shop and sell incense during the day.

The new shop didn’t attract much attention, with ordinary spiritual incense for blessings, exorcisms, and calming the mind on the shelves. The only item of value was "Qingxuan Incense," priced at one spirit stone each.

Higher-grade incenses like "Zixuan Incense" would be put on the shelves later.

Nearby businesses were curious about the obscure item of spiritual incense and came to investigate both openly and covertly.

Xuanhua Spiritual Incense Shop’s business was very average, with sales only every few days. The onlookers soon lost interest and stopped visiting. As for the poor business of spiritual incense, Yuan Ming was not in a hurry, knowing that business also relies on chance, and mere shouting and selling would not suffice.

***

With everything arranged, Yuan Ming’s life settled into a routine.

He returned to house number 86, making incense and taking the elixirs he had bought to improve his cultivation, and in his spare time, he studied the spells recorded in the book.

He also took three days to fly to another small city on the edge of Leizhou to send a letter to his parents and Liu Tianming, reporting his safety but not revealing his current whereabouts.

Also sent out was "The Eastern Travels of Sheng Gongzi," a new storybook he had compiled about his journey to the Yue country and hunting beasts at sea, addressed to Tianming Bookstore.

As days passed, Yuan Ming overcame his initial discomfort and found his decision to stay in Xiaohu City to be the right one.

He didn’t have to please anyone, nor worry about his secrets being exposed, and could freely arrange all his time.

He often visited the market, drank tea at the teahouse, exchanged ideas with other cultivators, and got to know the dynamics of the cultivation world, meeting many cultivators. Although busy, his days were fulfilling, and he grew to love his current life more and more.

Hua Zhi was restless by nature and had managed to endure during their travels, but now that Yuan Ming had settled down, Hua Zhi could no longer bear it and clamored to go out.

Unable to persuade Hua Zhi otherwise, Yuan Ming released it from the spirit beast bag.

Hua Zhi didn’t take the main road, intending to leave Xiaohu City directly through the earth and enter the swamps outside the city, but was stopped by the city’s array and could only shrink back into the bag, following Yuan Ming through the city gate.

The swamp, known as Rain Ruins Swamp, covered a vast area and was a notorious dangerous place in Leizhou. Due to the humid climate and constant rain, it was filled with poisonous miasma and inhabited by many venomous insects and beasts.

Hua Zhi was not weak and had even more cunning methods. Now that it had learned to travel through the earth, Yuan Ming was not worried about its safety.

***

Another month passed in the blink of an eye.

Inside house number 86, Yuan Ming chanted a spell and formed a hand seal.

An invisible shield appeared around him, covering a radius of four to fifteen meters, and all sounds from outside disappeared, completely isolated.

A satisfied smile appeared on his face. This was the "Soundproofing Spell," one of the more complex spells in the book, which ordinary cultivators would likely need a long time to master.

With his Foundation Establishment stage cultivation and strong spiritual consciousness, Yuan Ming learned it in just two days.

He tested the other effects of the soundproofing shield and was very satisfied, then waved his hand to dispel the spell.

Yuan Ming picked up the book of spells next to him and put it away.

He had learned all the spells in the book, filling the gap in his previous lack of spells.

Unfortunately, the book recorded only common spells, which were fine for everyday use but ineffective against strong enemies.

However, Yuan Ming was not worried. He had seen many Foundation Establishment stage cultivators from Changchun Temple and other sects of Great Jin during the succession ceremony. By attaching to these people and influencing them, he should be able to stealthily learn some spells.

He took out the Heaven-Stealing Cauldron and inserted a black stick of incense into it.

This stick was made with the ash from Xuanhua Temple’s incense, mixed with the previously obtained Fire Pine Wood. He was curious about the effect and decided to try it out.

After lighting the black incense, Yuan Ming focused and locked onto the old crone with a cane from Bailuo Villa.

The crone’s cultivation was not very high, and she was quite old and weak, making her easier to control. He decided to start learning from her.

The black incense quickly ignited, and as Yuan Ming’s vision darkened, he found himself attached to the old crone with a cane.

***

It seemed to be a spacious cave with no one around, and the old crone was meditating. She exhaled wisps of purple qi from her mouth and nose, which rapidly circled her body before slowly merging into her fingernails.

Her fingertips gradually turned purple, looking extraordinarily enchanting.

Yuan Ming was surprised and was about to sense the old woman’s consciousness when he suddenly thought of something.

"After attaching, shouldn’t I only be able to observe the surroundings through the host’s eyes? Why can I see everything around me even though the old woman is meditating with her eyes closed?"

He seemed to have had similar experiences before, but he hadn’t paid attention at the time.

"Could it be due to my improved cultivation or the continuous improvement of the black incense?" Yuan Ming speculated.

He quickly stopped his pointless pondering and focused on sensing the old crone’s cultivation.

She seemed to be practicing a poison spell, with each wisp of purple qi containing intense poison. By merging it into her nails, she layered the poison, ready to release it to harm enemies when necessary.

This method was not only convenient for poisoning but also strengthened the toxicity. The poison in the old woman’s nails had clearly reached an astonishing level, and she was very cautious.

Yuan Ming found the technique quite interesting. After carefully sensing it, he quickly learned a good deal of it.

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